LIBRARY   OF 

JOHN   GALEN    HOWARD 


How  TO  FRAME  A  HOUSE 


OR 


By    OWEN    B.    MAGININIS, 

H 
Author  of  "Bricklaying^"   "Practical  Centring''   "How  to  Join  Mouldings''  Etc.,  Etc. 

A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  THE  LATEST  AND  BEST  METHODS  OF  LAYING  OUT, 

FRAMING  AND  RAISING  TIMBER   HOUSES  ON  THE  BALLOON  PRINCIPLE, 

TOGETHER  WITH  A  COMPLETE  AND  EASILY  UNTERSTOOD 

SYSTEM    OF  ROOF  FRAMING,  THE  WHOLE  MAKING 

A    Valuable  and   Indispensable  Book   for    Carpenters,   Builders,  Foremen,  Journeymen,  Etc. 


And   Explained  by   numerous  Large  Engravings  of  Houses,   Roofs,    Etc. 


PUBLISHED     BY 

OWEN     B.     MAGINNIS,     NEW     YORK 
19O1  . 


7"7/ 

2  3<9/ 

- 


a  FAC 


7T  S  the  best  systems  of  framing  timber  dwellings  now  universal 
*  *  throughout  this  country  and  Canada  are  contained  in  this  book, 
I  need  only  say  in  placing  the  Sixth  edition  before  the  trade  that  it 
contains  the  very  latest  and  best  methods  of  Laying  out,  Framing 
and  raising  House  Frames. 

Every  builder  in  the  land  will  find  it  useful,  in  fact  valuable,  in 
his  practice,  and  every  carpenter,  necessary  in  his  work.  That  it  will 
be  appreciated  is  now  without  doubt,  and  i  trust  that  it  may  prove  a 
means  of  making  money  and  saving  labor  to  every  one  who  buys  it . 

My  best  thanks  are  due  Mr.  P.  J.  McGuire,  editor  of  "The 
Carpenter,"  for  permission  to  reproduce  "Koof  Framing." 


NEW  YORK,  1901. 


COPYRIGHTS  1891-1893. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I.— Balloon  and  Braced   Frame  Houses. 

CHAPTER  I.  General  Description  of  Balloon  Frame?!,  Framed  Sills,  and  their  construe. 

tion. 
CHAPTER  II.          First   Floor  Beams    or  Joists,    Story   Sections,    Second    Floor   Beams, 

Studding,  Framing  of  Door  and  Window  Openings,  Wall  Plates  and 

Roof  Timbers. 
CHAPTER  111.       Laying   Out  and  Working   Balloon    Frames,   Girders,   Sills,  Posts   and 

Studding. 
CHAPTER  IV.       Laying  Out  first  and  Second  Floor  Joists  or  Beams,  Ceiling  Joists  and 

Wall  Plates. 

CHAPTER  V.          Laying  Out  and  Framing  the  Roof. 
CHAPTER  VI.        Raising. 

CHAPTER  VII.      Braced  Frame  Houses;  How  to  Lay  Out.  Frame  and  Construct  them. 
CHAPTER  VIII.    How  to  Frame  Out  Bay  Windows. 
CHAPTER  IX.      The  Construction  of  Framed  Tenements  and  Factories. 
CHAPTER  X.         How  to  Construct  a  Timber  Framed  Auditorium. 
CHAPTER  XL        Tlie  Construction  of  Reviewing  Stands. 
CHAPTER  XII.      How  to  Build  a  Timber  Grain  Elevator. 

CHAPTER  XI II.    Framing  Projecting  Stories  and  Bay  Windows,  also  General  Hints. 
CHAPTER  XIV.     How  to  Frame  Cheap  Timber  Bridges  for  Roadways,  etc. 
CHAPTER  XV.       How  to  Frame  a  Log  Cabin. 

PART  II.— How  to  Frame  the  Timbers  for  a  Brick  House. 

Copyrighted  18 '6.  by  Owen  B.  Maginnis. 

CHAPTER  I.  General  Description,  First  Story  Fireproof  Floors,  Wood  Floor  Beams 

and  Studding. 
CHAPTER  II.         Second   and   Upper    Story   Beams,    Partitions.    Bridging    and   Angular 

Framing. 

CHAPTER  III.       Fireproofing  Wood  Floors,  Partitions  and  Doors. 
CHAPTER  IV.        Roofs,  Bulkheads  and  Fronts. 
CHAPTER  V.         Composite,  or  Wood  and  Iron  Construction. 
CHAPTER  VI.       Heavy  Beams  and  Girders,  and  Raising  same. 

PART  III.— Roof  Framing. 

CHAPTER  1.  Simple  Roofs. 

CHAPTER  II.  Hip  and  Valley  Roofs. 

CHAPTER  III.  Roofs  of  Irregular  Plan. 

CHAPTER  IV.  Pyramidal  Roofs. 

CHAPTER  V.  Hexagonal  Roofs. 

CHAPTER  VI.  Conical  or  Circular  Roofs. 

CHAPTER  VII.  Framing,  Sheeting  and  Slating  an  Eyebrow  Window. 


628586 


FIG.  i — SKELETON  VIEW  OF  A  BALLOON  FRAME. 


Balloon  and  Braced  Frame  Houses. 


GENERAL     DESCRIPTION— FRAMED     SILLS     AND     THEIR 

CONSTRUCTION. 


AS  the  majority  of  houses  which  are 
erected  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada  are  now  built  of  wood 
on  the  system  which  is  best  known  as  that 
of  "  Balloon  Framing,"  I  think  that  some 
practical  information  on  this  subject  will 
be  appreciated.  Except  where  very  heavy 
timbers  are  used,  as  in  the  construction  of 
frame  factories,  bains,  sheds,  etc.,  the  old 
tenon,  mortise  and  pin  method  is  now  ob- 
solete. The  economical  and  excellent 
structural  methods  of  framing  on  the  bal- 
loon system  have  made  it  universally  popu- 
lar with  all  architects,  builders  and  carpen- 
ters. There  has  never  yet  been  anything 
really  practical  written  about  it,  and  I  feel 
assured  that  this  book  will  be  favorably  re- 
ceived. Some  readers  will,  no  doubt,  feel 
inclined  to  criticise  many  of  the  methods 
published,  and  from  them  I  would  ask  a 
little  consideration,  as  those  which  will  be 
illustrated  are  not  my  invention,  but  are  in 
vogue  and  daily  application  in  many  States 
and  localities.  However,  that  readers  in 
general  may  gain  information  from  them  is 
my  great  desire. 

Balloon  frames  are  probably  termed  thus 
because  of  their  extreme  lightness  and 
rigidity,  as  they  embody  some  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  balloon,  including  sim- 
plicity of  construction  and  uniformity  of 
outline,  but  as  Mr.  Woodward  says  in  his 
useful  little  book,  "  Modern  Homes,"  bas- 
ket frames  would  be  more  appropriate 


name  for  them,  as  their  construciion  par- 
takes much  of  the  basket  pattern — that  is 
to  say,  they  have  upright  stays  or  studs, 
but  wood  instead  of  willow  covering.  Bal- 
loon frames  may  be  divided  into  three 
principal  component  parts,  consisting  of 
the  floors,  the  walls  and  the  roof. 

Fig.  i  of  the  illustrations  will  give  the 
reader  a  fir^t  conception  of  what  is  meant 
by  a  balloon  frame.  Taking  it  for  granted 
that  he  is  a  practical  and  intelligent  man 
who  wishes  to  understand  the  principal 
parts  of  a  house,  he  will  readily  perceive 
the  parts  just  mentioned.  The  floors  are 
made  up  of  smaller  pieces,  or  what  is  prac- 
tically called  timbers,  and  each  of  these 
timbers  has  its  own  appellation,  and  serves 
a  useful  purpose  in  the  construction.  A  is 
the  cellar  or  main  supporting  girder,  which 
is  placed  in  the  cellar  of  the  house  in  order 
to  sustain  the  weight  of  the  floor  joists,  par- 
titions, or  other  weights  placed  upon  it.  It 
is  either  made  up  of  one  stick  of  timber  or 
built  up  in  thicknesses,  or  several  timbers 
2x8,  2x10  or  2x12,  joists  spiked  or  bolted 
together  to  form,  as  it  were,  one  large  tim- 
ber 8xio  or  8x12,  as  trie  case  may  be.  It 
is  supported  in  the  centre  of  its  length  by 
posts  equally  spaced  between  the  walls,  on 
which  the  ends  rest  and  in  which  they  are 
usually  inserted  from  6  to  9  inches.  The 
top  edges  are  placed  level  with  the  top  of 
the  foundation  wall,  set  on  the  cellar  wall 
or  underpinning.  B  represents  the  sills,  of 


HOW   TO   FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


which  there  are  four  for  this  building, 
which  has  four  sides.  If  a  building  have., 
more  sides  it  must  have  a  sill  for  each  on 
which  to  rest  the  posts  and  studding. 
They  are  usually  made  of  timbers  measur- 
ing 4x6  inches,  and  are  halved  together  in 
the  corners  in  the  manner  shown  at  C.  For 
the  sake  of  economy,  however,  some  build- 
ers prefer  to  build  up  their  sills  in  two 
thicknesses  of  two-inch  plank,  spiking  them 
thoroughly  together  and  overlapping  the 
corners  in  the  manner  shown  at  Fig.  2. 
This  method  is  not  as  good  as  that  de- 
scribed before,  but  it  is  cheaper,  as  it  saves 
the  cost  of  thick  timbers  and  the  labor  of 
halving  the  corners. 


FIG.  2. 


FIG.  3 — FRAMING  OF  SILLS. 

Fig.  3  is  another  method  of  building 
sills  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  saving 
labor.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  floor 
beams  play  an  important  part  in  the  con- 
struction of  this  description  of  sill,  and  it  is 
therefore  open  to  criticism.  Referring  again 


to  Fig.  i,  the  first  floor  beams  will  be  seen 
at  D  D  D.  It  will  be  noticed  that  they 
rest  on  the  cellar  girder,  A,  are  notched  or 
git  ded  over  the  sills,  B  B,  and  their  bottom 
edges  rest  on  the  stonework  or  the  founda- 
tion or  cellar  walls. 


o  2.  StCTlON  OF  SILL. 


FIG.  4 — CHEAP  SILLS. 

At  Fig.  4  I  show  two  mire  arrange- 
ments of  sills  which  are  even  cheaper  than 
the  foregoing,  inasmuch  as  they  are  made 
up  of  ordinary  floor  timbers  spiked  togeth- 
er, so  as  to  form,  as  it  were,  box  sills.  For 
very  cheip  work,  as  small  houses  or  barns, 
they  can  be  readily  and  economically  in 
troduced.  No.  2  is  especially  suitable  for 
barns,  as  it  does  away  with  much  timber 
and  labor,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  incomplete  sills  of  this  description 
or  character  should  never  be  introduced 
when  a  few  dollars  can  be  spared  to  put  in 
one  of  a  better  and  more  sui  able  form.  Any 
sensible  mind  will  readily  understand  that 
such  sills  must  necessarily  follow  the  settle- 
ment of  the  stone  underpinning,  and  should 
this  be  uneven,  the  whole  superstructure 
will,  as  a  matter  of  consequence,  strain  and 
become  injured.  Some  architects  in  the 
West,  probably  from  a  desire  to  cheapen 
their  productions,  promote  such  construc- 
tion as  this,  but  they  are  certainly  not  fit, 
and  are  better  not  put  in. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


In  proceeding,  I  think  it  best  to  give  the 
reader,  especially  the  beginner  and  young 
mechanic,  a  general  description  of  the  prin- 
cipal component  parts  of  a  simple  house 
framed  on  the  balloon  system.  Then  by 
chapters  to  instruct  him  practically  in  the 
various  practical  means  and  methods  which 
must  be  followed  when  building  houses  of 
this  class.  I  therefore  most  respectfully 
ask  those  who  wish  to  apply  them  in  ac- 
tual practice  to  become  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  those  important  instruments 
or  tools  absolutely  necessary  to  proceed 
accurately,  namely :  The  two-foot  rule, 
ten-foot  pole,  and  steel  square.  The  last 
combines  a'most  all  three. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FIRST  FLOOR  BEAMS  OR  JOISTS — STORY 
SECTIONS  —  SECOND  FLOOR  BEAMS  — 
STUDDING  —  FRAMING  OF  DOOR  AND 
WINDOW  OPENINGS — WALL  PLATES  AND 
ROOF  TIMBERS. 

The  isometrical  drawing,  Fig.  I,  shows 
how  the  joists  are  'spaced  at  equal  distance 
apart,  generally  14  inches  between  the  faces 
or  1 6  inches  from  centre  to  centre  for 
ordinary  dwelling  houses,  and  on  them  the 
flooring  laid.  These  beams  are  framed  or 
sawn  out  to  fit  over  the  sill  their  own 
thickness,  and  to  rest  on  the  stone- work 
of  the  cellar  wall  or  underpinning,  also  to 


FIG.  5 — Two  MOKE   EXAMPLES  OF  SILL  CONSTRUCTION. 


To  illustrate,  B  is  a  2x8  placed  on  the 
wall,  and  A  is  a  2x6  spiked  fast  to  it ;  C  is 
a  2x4  studding  spliced  firmly  to  A  and  B  ; 
D  is  spiked  in  the  same  manner,  the  end 
and  side  sills  are  b^th  made  the  same  way 
and  spiked  well  at  the  corners,  making  a 
first-class  box  sill,  and  one  that  can  be  re- 
lied on  in  a  cyclone. 


rest  on  or  be  supported  by  the  cellar  girder ; 
from  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cellar 
girder  is  set  fair  with  the  top  of  the  wall. 
H,  H,  H,  H  are  the  posts  or  four  main 
angle  uprights  of  the  frame,  and,  for  reasons 
which  I  can  hardly  explain,  are  made  in 
various  ways  in  different  States.  Those  I 
have  drawn  in  this  sketch  are  4"  x6  "  tim- 


HOW   TO   FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


CUCH    BOARDING 


STCRV    SfCTION 


FIG  6 — SECTION  OF  WALL. 

bers,  and  this  is  the  method  usually  fol- 
lowed in  the  Eastern  States.  In  the  West, 
however,  the  posts  are  made  of  two  2x4, 
spiked  together  so  as  to  form  one  stick  or 
timber,  but  the  solid  posts  are  preferable. 
These  are  simply  cut  to  the  length  required, 
with  the  top  and  bottom  ends  perfectly 
square,  so  that  they  may  be  nailed  solidly 


on  the  sill  at  the  bottom  and  support  the 
wall  plate  properly  at  the  top.  E,  E  are 
the  girt  strips  or,  as  they  are  better  known, 
"  ribbons,"  on  which  the  second  floor  joists 
or  beams  rest.  They  are  gained  into  the 
posts  and  studding  on  the  right  and  left 
side  walls  of  the  frame.  A  study  of  the 
story  section,  Fig.  6,  will  give  the  student 
a  more  comprehensive  explanation  of  the 
framing  of  the  floor  timbers  and  gaining  of 
the  posts  and  studding,  than  would  be  con- 
veyed by  Fig.  i. 


FIG.   7 — ELEVATION    OF    A  STUD  WALL 
WITH   BRACE. 

The  second  floor  joists  should  be  notched 
out  to  sit  down  on  the  ribbon  in  the  way 
shown  in  Figs.  I,  6  and  14,  to  hold  the 
side  walls  together.  The  wall  studs  are 
invariably  spaced  16  inches  between  cen- 
tres; many  readers  who  are  young  at  the 
business  may  ask  why  ?  The  reason  is  a 
very  simple  one.  It  is  because  all  plasterers' 
laths  are  cut  or  sawn  to  a  standard  length, 
viz.  :  4  feet  long,  and  it  is  for  the  purpose 
of  overlapping  and  breaking  the  joints  on 
the  lath  that  they  are  thus  spaced.  Of 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


FIG.  8 — ROOF  TIMBERS   SET  UP. 


course  it  will  be  easily  seen  that  three 
times  sixteen  inches  make  four  feet,  or  the 
standard  length  of  a  plasterer's  lath,  and 
one  lath  will  therefore  nail  on  four  stud- 
ding and  cover  three  sixteen  inch  lengths. 
Openings  for  windows  are  obtained  in 
the  manner  represented  on  the  left  in  the 
front  of  Fig.  i.  For  extra  strength,  and 
by  reason  of  the  weakening  by  introducing 
the  openings,  it  is  the  custom  to  double  up 
the  studding  on  each  side  of  them,  and 
this  is  done  as  follows  :  A  single  stud,  as 


G,  is  first  inserted  and  nailed  in  on  each 
side  of  the  opening.  Then  the  top  and 
bottom  headers,  as  M  and  N;are  cut  to  the 
necessary  length  and  placed  in,  bevelled 
and  nailed.  The  top  or  upper  header  is 
generally  doubled,  but  the  bottom  one  need 
not  necessarily  be  so,  though  I  have  drawn 
it  doubled  here  as  it  is  often  done  in  good 
work.  When  these  are  in-  a  short  stud  is 
cut  in  to  form  the  double  thickness.  In 
the  better  class  of  framed  houses  the 
doubled  studs  are  put  in  ftrll  length  from 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A   HOUSE. 


FIG.  9 — FLOOR  JOISTS,  STUDS  AND  RAFTERS. 


sill  to  plate,  as  shown  on  the  left  side  of 
the  opening,  Fig.  I.  This  method  is  shown 
in  Fig.  7,  which  is  an  inside  view  of  the 
stud  wall  standing  upright,  with  the  girt 
strip  or  ribbon  gained  in  and  nailed  with  a 
brace  cut  in  to  stay  the  building.  The 
second  floor  joists  are  spaced  out  the  same 
distance  between  centres  as  those  forming 
the  first  floor  below — that  is,  16  inches  be- 
tween centres.  J,  J  shows  them  in  position 
on  the  ribbon,  Fig.  i.  Door  openings  like- 
wise have  the  studding  doubled  both  on 
outside  and  inside  walls,  and  when  the 
openings  are  over  four  feet  wide  the  head- 
ers have  a  trussing  arrangement  placed 


over  them  to  sustain  the 
weight  above,  see  Fig.  12. 
I,  I,  I,  I  are  the  four  wall 
plates,  which,  being  sup- 
ported by  the  upright  stud- 
ding forming  the  framework 
of  the  wal  Is,  carry  the  rafters 
which  make  up  the  framing 
of  the  roof.  L.  L  are  the 
"Hip"  or  angle  rafters. 
Outside  angle  rafters  are 
termed  "  Hips  !  "  Inside 
angle  rafters  "  Valleys." 
As  this  building  has  four 
outside  angles,  it  has, 
therefore,  four  hip  rafters. 
K  denote >  the  "Jack"  raft- 
ers or  those  which  aie  cut 
and  nailed  to  the  hip  rafters. 
Fig.  8  represents  an  ordi- 
nary peak  or  ridge  roof  on 
a  common  oblong  plan. 
A,  A  are  the  plates  as  be- 
fore. B,  B,  the  common 
rafters ;  C,  the  ridge.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  plates 
from  being  thrust  out  by 
the  lateral  pressure  of  the 
rafters,  a  collar  beam  or  tie 
beam  is  inserted,  see  Fig. 
1 6,  thus  making  the  roof  a  stable,  solid 
construction. 

Fig.  9  will  convey  to  the  reader  or  stu- 
dent how  the  side  of  a  balloon  frame  is  put 
together.  The  first  floor  beams  are  2"x8", 
gained  out  and  set  on  the  ribbon  which  is 
let  into  the  studding  its  full  thickness, 
and  nailed  fast  to  each  stud  ;  on  the 
upper  ends  the  wall  plate  rests,  and  is 
nailed  thereto,  being  made  of  two  thick- 
nesses of  2"x4"  joist.  The  other  top  or 
attic  floor  beams,  which  are  also  tie  beams, 
2x6,  are  set  and  spaced  off  on  this,  also  the 
roof  timbers  or  rafters  of  2"x4"  scantling. 
From  this  drawing  the  construction  of  the 


HOW   TO   FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


H 


se  :tion,  Fig.  6,  will  be  readily  understood. 
As  the  timbers  of  balloon  frames  are  held 
together  entirely  by  nails,  I  would  ask 
readers  to  note  the  nailing  shown  in  these 
sketches,  for  they  represent  how  the  tim- 
bers are  fastened  together  in  order  to  form 
a  comp'ete  frame. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LAYING  OUT  AND  WORKING  BALLOON 
FRAMES,  GIRDERS,  SILLS,  POSTS  AND 
STUDDING. 

In  the  first  and  second  chapters  I  have 
endeavored  to  explain  to  the  student  the 
principal  timbers  forming  the  balloon  frame 
of  a  simple  house,  built  on  a  square  plan, 
or  on  a  square  foundation.  In  this  chapter 
the  student  or  beginner  will  be  shown  the 
proper  mechanical  way  to  proceed  in  lay- 
ing out  and  framing  the  individual  pieces 
so  that  they  will  fit  when  "  Raised,"  or  are 
placed  in  their  permanent  position. 

LAYING      OUT      AND     WORKING     BALLOON 
FRAMES. 

GIRDERS. — Cellar  girders  to  support  first 
floor  beams  should  be  laid  out  to  the  neat 
length  of  the  walls,  between  which  they 
will  rest,  ;  nd  have  not  less  than  6"  of 
bearing  added  on  to  each  end  to  go  into 
the  wall.  If  the  girder  be  so  long  that  it 
must  be  made  up  of  two  sticks  or  timbers, 
then  they  must  be  separately  laid  out  and 
squared  at  the  abutting  ends,  and  they 
must  be  accurately  measured  with  the  ten- 
foot  pole,  so  that  the  joint  will  come  ex- 
actly in  the  centre  of  the  pier  or  post, 
according  as  the  plans  and  specifications 
state.  It  is  not  usual  to  halve  cellar  girders 
together.  But  should  the  specification  call 
for  this,  then  they  must  be  carefully  meas- 
ured to  allow  for  the  halving,  and  still 
retain  the  required  length  from  end  to 
end.  See  Fig.  10.  To  lay  them  out  they 


should  be  placed  on  saw  horses  at  full 
length  and  accurately  marked  and  squared 
with  the  steel  square  and  lead  pencil,  and 
afterwards  sawn  to  the  lay  out  marks.  See 
Fig.  14. 

LAYING    OUT    SILLS. — Sills    of  balloon 
frames  can  be    laid    out    by  placing  each 
piece  singly  on  horses,  and  after  determin- 
ing the  neat  length  to  lay  out  the   corners 
for  halving  and  the    spacing  of  the  floor 
posts    and    wall     studding.     The    whole 
length  is  measured  with   the  ten-foot  pole, 
which  should  always  be  used  in  measuring 
distances    over    ten-feet    long.     The  tteel 
square  or  two-foot  rule  is  applied  in  laying 
off  the  joists  or  studding,  and  the   corners 
are    marked    for    halving   with    the    steel 
square    across    the    grain,  and  the    gauge 
with  it.     I  would  impress  upon  all  carpen- 
ters the  necessity  for  placing  the  two  sticks 
end  to  end,  with    the    length    of  the  halve 
overlapping  when  they  are  laying  out  long 
sills  30  o  or  49'  o"  and  to  uce  the  ten-foot 
pole  in  measuring.    This  lessens  the  possi- 
bility of  mistakes  occurring.     They  might 
be  laid  either  on  the  horses  or  directly  on 
the  cellar  wall,  and  I  think  the  latter  is  pre- 
ferable, because,  if  the  foundation  wall   be 
correctly  built  to  the  size  called  for,  the  sill 
must    come    right ;  besides,  the    sills  must 
suit  the  wall. 

Supposing,  for  example,  that  the  side 
wall  of  a  building  is  39  feet,  then  two  20 
foot  sticks  should  be  procured  and  placed 
side  by  side  on  the  horses  or  wall,  one 
overlapping  the  other  8  inches  to  form  the 
halved  joint,  which  can  be  laid  out  by 
squaring  across  the  top  edges  of  both  at 
once.  This  will  allow  two  clear  inches  on 
ea-h  end  for  squaring. 

Carpenters  should  take  care  not  to  have 
a  straight  joint  come  over  a  cellar  window, 
as  there  is  always  the  liability  of  its  coming 
apart,  or  sagging  down  under  the  weight 
of  the  studding  above.  All  sills  will  in- 


12 


HOW   TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


variably  require  to  be  placed  rounding  edge 
u/>. 

Sills  of  hexagonal  or  octagonal  plan  are 
to  be  laid  down  according  to  the  plan  on 
the  template  made  for  the  cellar  wall  and 
be  halved  at  the  corners. 

At  Fig.  1 1  is  shown  the  first  floor 
framing  plan  of  a  small  house  with  a  bay 
window,  which  has  the  sill  6x8  inch  tim- 
ber, the  floor  beams  being  gained  into 
them.  If  sills  are  made  in  two  thicknesses 


just  as  the  studs  and  posts  will  be.  This 
can  either  be  made  out  of  a  piece  of  7/%  in. 
pine  or  a  2"x4"  stud,  and  it  must  be  laid 
out  for  the  gain  for  the  girt  strip  or  ribbon 
and  squared  at  the  top  and  bottom  ends. 
The  pattern  should  be  perfectly  straight 
on  edge  and  be  out  of  wind. 

When  a  g  od  pattern  is  made  the  posts 
are  first  placed  on  the  saw  horses  and  laid 
out.  The  ends  are  also  sawed  off  square 
and  the  gain  is  sawed  and  chiseled  out  for 


FIG.  10 — VIEW  OF  CELLAR  WALLS,  PIER  GIRDER  AND  SILLS. 


of  2  inch  plank  as  is  done  in  some  parts  of 
the  country,  each  thickness  should  over- 
lap, both  at  the  corners  and  turning  points. 
POSTS  AND  STUDDING — Some  carpenters 
and  builders  form  their  corner  posts  in 
balloon  frames  of  two  2"x4"  joists  spiked 
together  to  make  4"x/|."  sticks,  as  it  were. 
Some  use  4"x4"  scantling,  and  others 
make  them  of  one  stick  of4"x6."  The 
posts  and  studding  can  be  laid  out  from 
one  pattern,  which  should  be  first  framed 


the  strip.  Next  the  wall  studs  are  placed 
on  their  edges  on  the  saw  horses  in  quan- 
tities of  6,  8  or  10  at  a  time  and  the  edges 
squared  over  from  the  pattern.  Careful 
carpenters  use  ,two  patterns,  placing  one 
each  side  of  a  number  of  joists,  when  laid 
on  the  horses,  and  then  squared  across 
from  end  to  end,  or  from  gain  to  gain, 
thus  making  sure  lhat  they  will  be  ex- 
actly right.  Studding  should  be  laid  out 
on  the  rounding  edge,  so  that  the  hollow 


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HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


edge  will  come  on  the  outside  or  face  side 
of  the  wall.  When  the  edges  are  marked 
the  faces  are  squared  over.  Some  prefer 
to  lay  the  pattern  on  each  piece  singly, 
and  mark  the  face  of  stud  at  once,  thus 
avoiding  the  necessity  of  squaring  over  the 
edge.  This  practice  undoubtedly  saves 
time,  but  the  sawing  must  be  done  by 
good  workmen  or  the  joints  won't  be  square. 
The  reason  I  siy  this  is,  that  though  it 
may  seem  very  easy  to  s^w  a  piece  of  stuff, 
2  in.  thick,  square,  without  a  guide  line,  I 
find  few  who  can  do  it  exactly.  The  ribbon 
or  girt  strip  is  a  strip  of  i"x6"  stuff;  so 
the  grain  or  notch  must  measure  this  size. 

o 

Should  the  second  floor  joists  be  notched 
down  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  ribbon, 
then  the  top  edge  of  the  ribbon  must  be 
kept  up  higher,  the  depth  of  the  notch,  to 
get  the  proper  height  of  ceiling.  I  notice 
that  it  is  becoming  a  common  practice  to 
omit  notching  the  floor  beams,  and  I  can- 
not condemn  such  omission  too  strongly, 
even  though  the  joists  are  nailed  to  each 
stud,  because  the  notch  prevents  the  bot- 
tom edges  of  the  beams  from  slipping  on 
the  ribbon  and  ties  the  opposite  walls  to- 
gether. Only  the  two  side  walls  or  those 
at  right  angles  to  the  front  will  require  to 
be  gained  for  the  ribbon,  as  the  floor  joist 
run  across  the  front  and  rear  walls.  Stud- 
ding at  window  openings  should  invariably 
be  doubled  and  carefully  placed  that  the 
casings  and  siding  can  be  nailed  solid  on 
them,  at  the  same  time  giving  room 
enough  in  the  opening  to  allow  for  ample 
pocket  room  for  the  sash  weights;  2^ 
inches  will  be  room  enough.  If  4"x6" 
timbers  are  used  for  the  corner  posts,  then 
they  must  be  laid  out  in  pairs,  notching 
them  two  inches  from  the  edge,  and  the 
width  of  the  ribbon ;  I  might  say  here, 
that  it  is  the  best  practice  to  place  4x6 
timbers  with  the  six  inch  face  to  the  side 
wall,  thus  giving  the  2  inch  difference  of 


material  to  nail  on  the  ribbon,  and  after- 
wards the  plasterer's  lath. 

If  the  wall  plates  be  the  same  height  all 
round  the  building,  then  the  outside  wall 
studding  may  all  be  cut  to  the  same 
length  or  one  pattern ;  but  should  the 
plans  and  elevations  call  for  several  differ- 
ent heights  of  wall  plates,  carpenters  should 
note  them  carefully,  lay  out  and  saw  the 
studding  to  the  exact  length  required  for 
each  height. 

Cross  studding  or  headers  under  window 
sills  may  be  single  pieces  of  wall  studding, 
but  those  on  top,  both  over  window  and 
door  frames,  are  better  doubled.  Some 
double  the  side  studding  of  the  openings, 
the  whole  way  from  sill  to  plate,  but  a  more 
economical  method  which  might  be  advan- 
tageously followed,  is  as  described  in  the 
first  chapter. 

Door  or  window  openings  of  four  feet  or 
over  in  width  should  always  have  two  thick- 
nesses of  studding,  scantling,  forming  the 
head,  to  resist  the  pressure  from  above. 
Openings  of  5  feet  span  or  over  must  be 
trussed,  something  after  the  manner  shown 
on  Fi^.  1 1,  to  resist  the  beams  above  bend- 

o  " 

ing  the  upper  plates  downwards. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FIRST  AND  SECOND  FLOOR  JOISTS  OR  BEAMS 
— CEILING  JOISTS  AND  BEAMS  AND  WALL 
PLATES. 

FIRST  FLOOR  JOISTS  OR  BEAMS. — The 
laying  put  and  fra-ning  of  floor-beams,  is  a 
comparatively  simple  task,  yet,  like  all 
other  mechanical  operations,  it  requires 
system  and  exactness. 

A  pattern  is  first  made  by  which  all  the 
others  are  marked,  so  the  student  or  car- 
penter should  take  the  width  between  the 
sills  across  the  house  with  the  10  foot  pole, 
and  add  on  the  width  of  the  sill,  thus : 
Supposing  the  house  to  be  20  feet  wide, 


i6 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


FIG.  13 — FKAMING  OF  A  WELL  HOLE. 


then  allowing  I  inch  on  each  side  for  the 
rough  boarding,  the  outside  width  would 
be  19* — 10".  Now,  if  we  deduct  the 
width  of  the  sills,  say  12",  or  6"  for  each 
side,  then  the  width  between  the  sills  will 
be  1 8' — 10".  The  pattern  is  then  laid 
out  on  the  bottom  edge  18' — 10"  and  5"  is 
allowed  on  each  end  over  the  dimension  to 
rest  on  the  sill.  The  pattern  is  next  sawn, 
on  each  end  4"x5  ^",  measuring  from  the 
bottom.  If  a  10"  joist  is  used  this  will  give 
6"  above  the  sill  and  the  4"  below  it  will 
make  the  bottom  edge  of  the  joist  come 
level  with  the  bottom  face  of  the  sill,  so 
that  like  the  sill  itself  it  will  rest  on  the 
cellar  foundation  wall.  The  rounding  or 
cambered  edge  of  each  beam  must  be  kept 


to  the  top  in  order  that  the  floor  may  have 
a  slightly  curved  surface  or  crown,  and 
allow  it  to  settle  straight.  The  reader  will, 
of  course,  readily  perceive  that  were  the 
hollow  edges  kept  up  the  floor  would  be 
also  hollow,  and  when  it  settled  it  would 
become  much  more  so  and  render  it  both 
unsightly  and  unsafe. 

At  Fig.  13  I  have  drawn  a  view  of  a 
second  floor  stair-opening  framed  with 
"headers"  "trimmers''  and  "tail beams." 

This  opening,  technically  called  a  "  Well 
hole"  measures  4  feet  wide  by  7' — o  "  long 
or  4  fr.  x  7  ft.  The  face  of  the  header 
comes  4' — o"  from  the  inside  line  of  the 
wall,  so  that  in  laying  out  mortises  in  the 
trimmer-beams  for  this  header  4' — o" 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


must  be  measured  off  from  the  face  of  the 
wall,  allowing  for  the  bearing  on  the  sill  or 
ribbon.  (I  show  this  framing  as  for  the 
second  story,  because  the  same  rule  is 
applicable  for  the  first  story.) 

From  the  squared  line  7' — o"  must  be 
measured  off  and  another  line  squared 
over  for  the  face  of  the  opposite  header. 
Back  of  these  lines  the  mortises  must  be 
laid  out  in  the  manner  represented  at  B, 
Fig.  13.  A  is  the  neutral  axis  line  or 
breaking  line  of  the  timber.  Every  mor- 
tise must  be  made  above  the  line  as  repre 
sented  on  the  stick  marked  "header,"  like- 
wise every  tenon,  as  drawn  on  the  tenon 
framing  to  the  left  The  reason  that  the 
framing  must  be  done  in  this  way  is,  that 


this  work,  the  most  important  thing  being 
care  and  accuracy  in  laying  out  the  measure- 
ments and  framing.  The  two  inch  blade 
of  a  steel  square,  and  in  fact  the  whole 
square  is  most  handy  in  laying  out  these 
beams.  The  method  of  spiking  the  joists 
together  is  shown  by  the  nail  heads. 

SECOND  FLOOR  BEAMS  OR  JOISTS. — The 
laying  out  and  framing  of  the  second  tier 
of  beams  is  different  from  the  first,  for  the 
reason  that  they  rest  on  the  ribbon  or  girt 
strip  let  into  the  inside  edges  of  the  side 
wall  studding  as  I  described  in  '•  Posts  and 
Studding."  Their  full  length  will  be  equal 
to  the  full  width  of  the  house  as  below,  less 
y2"  the  ends  are  kept  short  at  each  end  to 
keep  them  back  from  the  outside  edges  of 


FIG.  14 — LAYING  OUT  BEAMS  WITH  THE  STEEL  SQUARE. 


the  neutral  axis,  or  more  practically  the 
breaking  line  of  every  beam  is  in  the  cen- 
tre of  its  width,  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
line  on  the  face  of  the  far  header ;  there- 
fore all  mortises  or  holes  made  in  beams 
must  be  above  the  line  so  as  to  avoid  les- 
sening its  strength. 

At  B  the  student  will  perceive  how  the 
tenon  is  framed  out  to  fit  into  the  mortise. 
The  tenon  is  usually  the  square  of  the 
thickness  of  the  stuff  or  2"x2".  Here 
also  will  be  seen  how  the  end  of  a  tail 
beam  is  framed,  in  a  similar  way  as  the 
header.  There  is  nothing  very  difficult  in 


the  studding.  The  bottom  edges  are 
notched  on  the  line  of  the  inside  edges  of 
the  studding,  i"  wide  and  i"  deep  to  fit 
over  the  upper  edges  of  the  ribbon.  These 
beams  can  also  be  laid  out  from  a  pattern. 
Fig.  14  shows  one  gain  cut  out,  also  how 
the  steel  square  is  applied  and  held,  when 
laying  out  timbers. 

One  special  point  which  must  be  noted 
in  connection  with  laying  out  floor  joists 
or  beams,  is  to  always  place  the  pattern 
fair  with  the  top  or  rounding  edge  of  the 
timber  and  to  mark  the  notches  and  gains 
at  an  equal  distance  from  this  top  edge. 


i8 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


This  is  done  to  make  the  top  edges  all 
level  so  that  the  floor  may  have  a  level 
surface  when  the  beams  are  placed,  and 
the  flooring  laid.  It  would  be  a  safer 
method  to  nail  a  fence  on  the  top  edge  of 
the  pattern. 

CEILING  JOISTS  AND  BEAMS. — These 
simply  rest  on  the  wall  plates  and  will 
only  require  to  be  cut  the  same  length  as 
the  floor  beams  except  when  the  corners 
on  the  ends  are  likely  to  stick  up  above 
the  top  edges  of  rafters.  Then  the  corners 
must  be  sawn  off  to  leave  the  rafters  clear 
for  boarding. 

WALL  PLATES. — Except  the  structures 
of  very  large  dimensions  the  wall  plates  of 
nearly  all  balloon  frame  houses  built  now 
are  formed  of  2"x4"  or  2"x6"  scantling  in 
two  thicknesses  or  doubled. 

They  are  solidly  joined  at  all  inside  and 
outside  corners  by  being  overlapped,  and 
where  there  is  a  long  side  on  the  building, 
the  joints  are  well  broken  to  give  extra 
strength.  The  4"  or  6"  underside  is  laid 
out  or  spaced  across  for  each  stud  to  cor- 


omy,  as  it  saves  the  over  length  of  stud- 
ding which  would  be  cut  off  each  gable 
from  the  plate  to  the  ridge  were  the  pieces 
put  in  from  the  sill  to  the  rafter.  Those 
wall  plates  on  the  gable  ends  should  there- 
fore be  laid  out,  cut  and  framed  before 
raising,  as  this  tends  to  hold  the  walls 
together. 

When  the  plates  are  level  all  round,  or 
rather  the  walls  all  the  same  height,  then 
they  will  all  be  set  on  studding  of  equal 
length,  but  as  plans  frequently  call  for 
plates  of  different  levels  and  lengths,  they 
must  be  very  carefully  studied  and  meas- 
ured and  clearly  understood  before  the 
carpenter  can  lay  out  a  stick  of  timber. 


CHAPTER    V. 
LAYING  OUT  AND  FRAMING  ROOF. 

THE  ROOF. — The  best  constructional  au- 
thorities have  written  and  published,  both 
in  books  and  technical  journals,  very  clear 
and  accurate  information,  showing  the 
proper  methods  for  obtaining  the  lengths 


FIG.  1 5 — A  PATTEKN  RAFTER. 


respond  with  the  sill  at  the  bottom  so  that 
when  the  top  ends  of  the  whole  number  of 
studs  are  nailed  to  the  spaced  marks  they 
will  stand  plumb  and  straight.  Some  car- 
penters prefer  to  lay  out  the  plate  from  a 
rod  after  it  is  raised.  Either  of  these  ways 
is  good,  but  there  are  some  who  would 
space  them  out  with  a  two-foot  rule  as  they 
are  being  nailed  in,  a  method  which  I  think 
is  very  liable  to  cause  an  error  or  get  them 
crooked. 

When  gables  occur  on  the  ends,  it  is 
proper  to  return  the  plates  across  them,  as 
at  Fig.  8.  This  is  largely  done  for  econ- 


of  hip  and  valley  rafters,  jacks,  etc.,  and 
as  all  carpenters  should  be  familiar  with 
some  of  them  they  should  study  the  articles 
on  Roof  Framing  further  on.  In  the 
meantime  I  will  refrain  from  touching  this 
subject,  and  try  to  show  the  reader  some 
points  hitherto  untouched  in  regard  to  lay- 
ing them  out. 

Rafters  should  in  all  cases  be  marked  off 
by  a  pattern  (See  Fig.  I  5),  laid  out  by  a 
good  method  to  the  pitch,  which  the  plan 
and  section  denote.  The  pattern  can  either 
be  a  piece  of  rafter  scantling,  or  a  piece  of 
seven-eighths  inch  stuff,  but  it  must  be 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


'9 


framed  square,  that  is,  the  cuts  at  the  peak 
and  bottom  must  be  sawn  perfectly  square 
to  the  sides.  This  will  give  a  reversible 
pattern  or  one  that  can  be  marked  from 
either  side  or  face.  It  must  also  have  its 
top  edge  perfectly  straight. 

The  rule  regarding  floor  beams,  about 
keeping  their  rounding  or  crowning  edges 
uppermost;  also  applies  to  rafters. 

There  should  never  be  less  than  two  or 
three  inches  bearing  on  the  wall  plate  on 
the  bottom  or  level  cut,  in  order  to  permit 
of  a  solid  nailing  into  th~  plate,  and  thus  do 


put  in  position  all  bearing    timbers,  round- 
ing edge  up. 

Hip  rafters  should  be  backed.  I  am 
aware  that  it  is  not  now  customary  to  do 
this,  still  it  can  be  very  cheaply  done  by 
nailing  a  beveled  strip  planed  to  the  angle 
necessary  on  the  top  edge  of  the  hip.  This 
would  be  a  better  practice  than  simply 
nailing  the  roof  boards  on  the  arises  of  the 
hips,  as  is  now  done.  I  would  now  draw 
the  attention  of  those  carpenters  who  one 
day  contemplate  being  builders  to  a  point 
in  roof  framing  generally  unnoticed.  It  is 


FIG.  1 6 — ELEVATION  OF  A  COLLAR  BEAM  ROOF. 


away  with  the  liability  of  its  slipping  off  the 
plate.  Fig.  16  is  an  elevation  of  rafters 
with  a  collar  beam,  which  is  inserted  to 
prevent  long  rafters  from  bending.  This 
will  require  to  be  framed  on  the  ground, 
and  is  sometimes  halved  out  to  fit  under 
the  bottom  edges  of  the  rafters  or  nailed 
on  flat.  The  measurements  should  be  care- 
fully taken  from  the  plans  so  as  to  give  the 
attic  head  room  called  for. 

Hip  and  valley  rafters  will  likewise  need 
to  be  as  above;  in  fact  the  student  should 
make  it  a  rule  to  always  lay  out  frame,  and 


usual  to  order  hip  and  valley  rafters  to  have 
them  the  same  width  or,  more  prop- 
erly, the  same  depth  as  the  common  and 
jack  rafters,  and  the  thickest  three  inches  or 
one  inch  thicker  than  the  others.  This 
might  not  exactly  be  called  an  error,  but  it 
is  scarcely  right,  which  readers  will  under- 
stand on  reading  the  following.  Hip  and 
valley  rafters  are  those  that  form  the  inter- 
sections of  the  roof  planes  and  they  usually 
have  their  seats  on  an  angle  contained 
within  a  right  angle.  For  this  reason,  then, 
the  top  cuts  on  all  jack  rafters  which  fit 


20 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


against,  and  nail  to,  the  sides  of  the  hip  or 
valley  will  be  longer  or  rather  deeper  than 
the  depth  of  those  they  are  placed  against, 
and  this  difference  will  increase  according 
as  the  pitch  of  the  roof  is  increased.  It  is 
therefore  the  duty  of  every  roof  framer  to 
see  that  the  hips  and  valleys  are  obtained 
wide  enough  to  receive  the  whole  width  of 
the  top  cut  on  the  jack  rafters  and  give  a 
solid  nailing.  To  my  mind  it  denotes  very 
poor  calculation  to  see  one-third  of  the  cut 
of  the  jacks  hanging  below  the  bottom 


this  matter  must  also  be  attended  to  in  re- 
gard to  ridges,  which  should,  in  all  cases, 
be  at  least  equal  in  width  to  the  top  cut  of 
the  common  rafters  which  abut  against 
it.  They  should  be  perfectly  straight  or 
slightly  crowning  on  the  top  edge,  but 
never  hollow.  They  should  also  be  laid 
out  on  one  side  with  the  spacing  of  the 
rafters.  Fig.  17  will  give  the  student  a 
clearer  understanding  of  what  is  written 
above,  as  it  shows  a  projected  view  of  the 
hips,  ridge  jacks,  rafters  and  plates.  When 


FIG.  17 — WALL  PLATES,  HIPS,  JACKS  AND  COMMON  RAFTERS  IN  POSITION. 


edge  of  the  hip  rafter,  and  I  have  known 
architects  who  have  compelled  builders  to 
remove  the  insufficient  timbers  and  to  re- 
place them  with  others  of  adequate  propor- 
tions. 

I  know  there  are  some  who  will  argue 
that  the  hip  will  be  sufficiently  strong  sup- 
ported by  two  sets  of  jacks  without  being 
particular  about  the  joints.  To  these  I 
would  answer  that  the  hip  supports  two 
planes  and  that  half  or  two-thirds  of  a  joint 
is  only  half  or  two-thirds  as  good  as  a  whole 
joint.  For  roofs  over  one-third  pitch  the 
angle  rafter  should  therefore  be  deepened ; 


very  long  ridges  are  inserted,  necessitating 
two  pieces,  end  to  end,  to  make  up  the 
whole  length,  the  joint  should  be  placed  in 
the  space  between  two  rafters  to  allow  a 
cleat  or  tie  piece  to  be  screwed  or  nailed 
across  it  to  hold  the  pieces  strongly  to- 
gether. Another  important  point  is  to  lay 
out  the  ridge  that  the  rafters  will  abut 
against  each  other,  and  not  at  one  side  or 
other  which  would  tend  to  bend  the  ridge 
after  the  rafters  are  placed  in  position. 
They  may  either  be  one-inch  or  two-inch 
stuff,  as  desired,  but  on  light  frame  dwell- 
ings one-inch  stuff  will  be  suitable. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE 


21 


J 


EIG.  1 8 — PROJECTION  OF  A  BALLOON  FRAME  FLOOR. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
RAISING. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  construction  of  a 
frame  building  which  requires  more  care 
or  accuracy  than  the  raising  of  the  fr-ime. 
I  therefore  trust  that  my  remarks  on  this 
subject  will  be  carefully  read,  as  they  will 
be  found  very  applicable  in  practice. 

PLACING  CELLAR  GIRDERS.— These  will 
require  to  be  lifted  into  the  place  on  top  of 


the  piers  built  for  them  in  the  cellar,  or  set 
perfectly  level  and  straight  from  end  to  end. 
Some  prefer  to  give  their  girders  a  slight 
crown  of  say  I  inch  in  the  entire  length, 
and  it  is  a  wise  plan,  because  the  piers  gen- 
erally settle  more  than  the  outside  walls. 
When  there  are  posts  instead  of  brick  piers 
used  to  support  the  girder,  the  best  method 
is  to  temporarily  sustain  the  girder  by  up- 
rights made  of  pieces  of  2x4  joists  resting 
on  blocks  on  the  ground  below.  When 


HOW   TO    FRAME    A    HOUSK. 


the  superstructure  is 
raised  these  can  be 
knocked  out  and 
the  permanent  posts 
placed,  resting  their 
bottom  ends  on  a 
broad  flat  stone,  to 
form  a  base  or  foun- 
dation footing. 

If  the  supporting 
posts  and  piers  be  not 
placed  or  built  until 
after  the  building  is 
erected,  then  carpen- 
ters should  exercise 
good  judgment  when 
jacking  the  girders 
up,  to  place  them  un- 
der it  and  not  raise 
them  so  much  as  to 
strain  the  building, 
and  it  is  always  de- 
sirable to  obtain  the 
crown  mentioned  be- 
fore. The  practice  of 
temporarily  shoring 
the  girders,  and  not 
placing  the  permanent 
supports  until  after 

the  superstructure  is  finished,  is  favored  by 
good  builders,  and  it  would  be  well  for 
carpenters  to  know  just  how  it  should  be 
done. 

SETTING  THE  SILL. — After  the  girder  is 
in  position,  the  sills  are  placed  on  top  of 
the  cellar  walls,  rounding  side  up  and  hol- 
low side  out,  and  are  very  carefully  fitted 
together  at  the  joints  and  leve'ed  through- 
out. The  last  operation  can  either  be  done 
by  a  sight  level  or  by  following  the  simple 
method  I  am  now  about  to  describe. 

Place  7/Q  inch  blocks  at  intervening  dis- 
tances on  the  length  of  each  side,  also  one 
at  either  end,  and  set  a  long  parallel 
straight-edge  on  them,  also  set  a  true  level 


FIG.  19 — A  FRAMED  INSIDE  PARTITION. 


on  the  upper  jointed  edge  of  the  stiaight- 
edge.  The  sill  must  be  wedged  up,  or 
lowered  down  until  the  air  bubble  in  the 
level  tube  is  exactly  in  the  centre,  and  each 
piece  must  also  be  wedged  up  or  lowered 
till  the  blocks  all  touch  the  bottom  edge  of 
the  straight-edge.  In  all  cases  the  whole 
length  of  the  sill  should  bear  solidly  on 
the  stonework,  and  it  should  either  be 
bedded  in  mortar  or  made  solid  with  chip 
pieces  of  slate,  stone  wedges  or  furrings, 
and  these  should  not  be  inserted  less  than 
two  feet  apart. 

Sills  are  generally  kept  back  fa  or  I 
inch  from  the  face  of  the  stonework,  to 
make  the  sheathing  come  flush  with  it,  and 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


allow  the  water  table  to  project  the  thick- 
ness of  itself  (usually  I  1-3  or  I  ^  inch)  to 
keep  the  water  off  the  stone. 

Sills  must  be  taken  out  of  wind,  that  is 
to  say,  they  must  be  level  all  round,  so 
that  when  the  carpenter  sights  them  across 
with  his  eye  (the  other  being  closed),  the 
surfaces  will  show  as  one  line. 

All  sill  joists  will  require  to  be  toe-nailed 
or  spiked  to  draw  them  closer  together, 


SETTING  FIRST  FLOOR  BEAMS. — This  im- 
portant job  is  done  by  expeiienced  carpen- 
ters in  the  following  manner  : 

The  stairs  and  chimneys  being  conduct- 
ors, or  rather  passing  up  from  one  floor  to 
the  next  one  above,  and  having  timbers 
framed  to  form  the  openings,  or,  as  they 
are  technically  called,  "wells,"  the  header 
and  trimmer  beams  round  them  must  be 
placed  first.  The  proper  method  to  follow 


FIG.  20 — FRAMING  OF  A  PARTITION  BETWEEN  BEAMS. 


and  the  running  joints  should  be  nailed 
dovetail  fashion.  When  sills  are  made  up 
of  two  thicknesses  of  plank,  as  they  some- 
times are,  they  will  need  to  be  solidly 
spiked  together,  to  form  one,  with  dove- 
tailed nails. 

As  some  of  my  readers  may  not  clearly 
understand  what  is  meant  by  "  dovetailing  " 
nails,  I  will  here  state  that  a  carpenter  dove- 
tails nails  when  he  drives  two  with  the 
points  inclining  to  or  from  each  other,  so 
that  they  form,  as  it  were,  a  "  dovetail." 


then  is,  to  place  and  nail  one  trimmer  beam 
first,  exactly  in  position  on  the  sill,  and  then 
to  insert  its  fellow  opposite  it,  loose.  When 
this  is  done  the  framed  header  may  have  its 
tenons  placed  in  the  mortises  in  the  pair  of 
trimmers,  and  the  loose  trimmer  made  par- 
allel to  the  one  that  is  nailed,  that  is,  it 
must  be  the  same  distance  apart  at  the  sill 
end  as  the  length  of  the  header  When 
two  headers  are  framed  in,  then  it  will  only 
be  necessary  to  straighten  the  trimmers 
from  end  to  end.  The  trimmers  will  like- 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


wise  require  to  be  set  square  to  the  sills. 
After  the  headers  are  set,  they  and  the 
trimmers  should  be  solidly  spiked  together, 
keeping  the  headers  square  with  the  trim- 
mers. 

The  "  tail "  beams  or  joists  are  next 
placed,  the  framed  ends,  with  the  tenons, 
being  slipped  into  the  mortises  in  the 
header,  and  there  solidly  spiked  to  keep 
them  in  place. 

This  practice  of  first  placing  all  trimmer 
and  header  beams  for  stairs,  chimneys, 
hearths,  or  other  openings  which  are 
framed  around,  should  always  be  adh -red 
to,  because  the  openings  are  then  sure  to 
be  in  their  proper  position  as  denoted  on 
the  first  floor  plan. 

Having  these  set,  the  remaining  single 
joists  are  carried  in  and  placed  on  the  sills, 
spacing  them  out  at  12  or  16  inches  be- 
tween centres,  as  called  for.  The  quickest 
way  to  space  them  is  either  to  u-e  a  twc- 
foot  rule  and  (when  two  inch  joists  are  in- 
serted) to  allow  10  inches  between  for  12- 
inch  centres,  and  pinches  between  for  16- 
inch  centres. 

The  student  will,  I  trust,  understand  that 
when  two  inches  more  is  added  on,  that  is, 
one  inch  on  each  side,  the  centres  of  the 
timbers  will  be  just  12  or  16  inches,  as  the 
case  may  be.  When  all  the  floor  timbers 
are  in  and  toenailed  to  the  sills,  a  strip  is 
nailed  across  the  top  edges  to  keep  them 
from  being  overturned.  This  strip  should 
be  kept  back  at  least  1 2  inches  from  the 
end,  in  order  that  it  may  not  interfere  with 
the  wall  posts  or  studding  when  raising. 

A  temporary  floor  must  now  be  laid  on 
the  beams,  by  placing  sheathing  board 
across  them,  and  they  should  be  so  placed 
that  there  may  be  no  traps  in  the  floor.  By 
traps,  is  meant  the  ends  of  the  boards 
which  project  over  one  beam  and  do  not 
rest  on  the  next,  so  that  when  a  man  stands 
on  the  end  it  is  a  trap  which,  being  pressed 


downwards  by  his  weight,  lets  him  fall  be- 
tween the  beams.  In  every  case  the  end 
of  each  board  should  rest  on  a  joist  or  beam 
to  prevent  this  occurring.  Fig.  18  repre- 
sents a  section  of  a  balloon  frame  floor 
with  the  bridging  in  position,  also  the  lath 
and  flooring. 

RAISING  THE  OUTSIDE  WALLS. — This,  the 
next  operation,  is  performed  very  simply. 
If  the  wall  be  not  too  long,  or  not  more 
than  25  feet,  proceed  to  spike  the  wall 
plates  on  the  top  ends  of  the  corner  posts, 
also  nail  the  ends  of  the  girt  strip,  or  rib- 
bon, square  in  the  jambs  in  the  posts.  Next 
place  and  nail  one  or  two  intervening  studs 
on  the  plate  and  ribbon,  to  the  marks  on 
them  which  have  been  previously  laid  out. 
This  can  be  done  on  the  temporary  floor 
laid  on  the  first  floor  beams. 

A  man  is  now  stationed  at  each  stud  and 
post,  and  the  construction  raised,  and  braces 
are  nailed  on  each  stud  and  post  to  prevent 
falling.  These  are  nailed  as  high  up  as  a 
man  can  reach,  in  order  that  they  may  hold 
it  firmly. 

The  next  thing  is  to  plumb  and  brace  the 
wall,  which  is  done  by  one  man  holding  a 
plumb  rule  against  the  surface  of  a  post  or 
stud  and  watching  the  bob,  while  another 
stands  ready  to  nail  the  bottom  end  of  the 
brace  into  the  sill  or  beam,  whenever  the 
bob  indicates  that  it  is  exactly  perpendicu- 
lar. The  rule  must  be  applied  to  both 
sides  of  the  posts,  to  insure  their  being 
plumb  both  ways,  and  two  braces  will  be 
needed,  or  one  on  each  of  the  sills  which 
form  a  corner. 

If  the  wall  plate  be  laid  out  the  same 
length  as  the  sill,  then  plumbing  one  post 
will  plumb  both,  that  is  for  one  wall,  but 
both  posts  must  be  plumbed  separately  for 
the  end  walls. 

Supposing  the  side  walls  to  be  raised, 
the  intervening  studding  may  be  inserted, 
but  where  window  and  door  openings 


HOW   TO   FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


occur  the  stud- 
ding on  each  side 
of  them  must  be 
doubled.  This 
may  be  done 
either  by  putting 
them  in  full  length 
reaching  from  sill 
to  plate,  or  by 
placing  single 
studs  full  length, 
and  after  nailing 
in  the  cross  head- 
ers  to  cut  in 
cripple  studs  the 
length  of  the  win- 
dow opening. 
For  the  sake  of 
economy  the  last 
method  is  most 
popular.  The 
side  studs,  form- 
ing openings, 
must  likewise  be 
plumbed. 

Where  there 
are  stretches  of 
wall  between  win- 
dows and  doors 
over  four  feet  in 
length,  the  stud- 
ding will  need  to 
be  spaced  16 
inches  between 

centres,  or  16  inches  from  the  inside  of  one 
stud  to  the  outside  of  the  next,  which,  it 
will  readily  be  understood,  is  the  same 
thing.  Carpenters  call  this  spacing  from 
"  in  to  out,"  and  follow  it  for  joists,  studding 
and  rafters. 

If  the  intended  house  will  be  situated  in  a 
locality  where  it  may  be  exposed  to  much 
strain,  through  heavy  wind  pressure,it  would 
be  well  to  cut  in  an  angular  brace,  abutting 
against  the  corner  post,  under  the  ribbon, 


PLATE 


•  STUDDING 


FIG.  21  Illustrates  the  frame  of  a  small  framed  cottage,  of  one  story,  with 
the  ceiling  beams  and  rafters  raised,  and  one  side  partly  sheeted  or  rough 
boarded.  Upper  headers  are  doubled  in  windows. 


and  fitted  down  on  the  sill  abutting  against 
a  windo'w  stud.  This  will  stiffen  the  frame, 
and  is  a  practice  largely  followed  along  the 
Atlantic  coast,  where  the  dwellings  are  fre- 
quently subject  to  the  pressure  of  heavy 
gales.  See  Fig.  7. 

Another  thing,  always  essential,  is  to 
properly  truss  over  window  and  door  open- 
ings, which  can  either  be  spanned  by  a 
4x6-inch  timber,  or  the  weight  above  can 
be  carried  over  to  the  studs  by  angle 


26 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


braces.  In  any  case,  where  four  or  five 
studding,  supporting  a  plate  and  timbers, 
occur  over  a  window,  precaution  should  be 
taken  to  resist  the  downward  pressure  in 
the  above  way. 

When  the  sidevvalls  are  raised  and 
braced,  the  second  floor  or  tier  of  beams  or 
joists  are  raised  and  fixed  in  position,  rest- 
ing on  the  ribbon,  and  holding  the  walls 
together  by  the  notch  which  I  described  in 
the  chapter  on  Framing.  It  is  best  to  nail 
each  joist  against  each  wall  stud  when 
possible,  as  it  enables  the  carpenter  to 
make  the  construction  more  solid  by  nail- 
ing them  to  each  stud  as  they  occur. 

The  second  floor  beams  are  placed  on 
the  ribbon  in  a  similar  manner,  being  set 
so  that  the  notch  or  gain  in  their  bottom 
edges  drops  on  the  edge  of  the  ribbon. 
All  those  beams  which  come  against  studs 
should  be  spiked  solidly  thereto.  A  tem- 
porary floor  is  laid  as  below  to  enable  the 
men  to  walk  about  and  work  on. 

The  third  floor  or  attic  timbers  must  rest 
upon  the  wall  plate,  and  can  be  set  either 
before  the  walls  are  sheathed  or  after,  but 
it  is  usual  to  set  them  before  commencing 
to  board  the  sides. 

Bridging  should  always  be  inserted  and 
the  top  ends  nailed  solidly  into  the  floor 
beams  before  the  floors  are  laid.  The  bot- 
tom ends  can  be  nailed  after  they  are  laid, 
thus  stiffening  and  raising  up  the  floor. 
The  writer  prefers  to  nail  the  bridging  top 
and  bottom  before  laying  the  flooring, 
thus  preventing  sagging  under  the  super- 
added  weight  of  the  floor,  and  he  con- 
demns the  practice  of  laying  the  floor  be- 
fore the  partitions  are  set.  Herewith  are 
presented  two  sketches  showing  the  proper 
way  to  construct  and  bridge  inside  parti- 
tions. Fig.  19  is  where  the  partition 
crosses  the  beams  at  right  angles  and  Fig. 
20  where  it  runs  in  the  same  direction  as 
the  beams.  It  will  be  noticed  in  the  latter 


that  blocks  have  to  be  set  up  to  receive  the 
top  piece  and  that  a  strip  is  nailed  on 
the  top  of  the  plate  to  which  the  ends 
of  the  laths  are  nailed  for  plastering 

The  heights  between  the  floors  are  usu- 
ally taken  with  two  rods,  sliding  them 
apart  till  the  ends  meet  floor  and  ceiling. 
Not  more  than  y^  of  an  inch  over  length 
should  be  allowed,  and  measurements  for 
partition  studding  should  be  taken  with 
the  top  plate  on  the  bottom  plate,  meas- 
uring with  the  rods  up.  Partition  lines 
should  be  laid  down  with  a  chalk  line. 

RAISING  THE  ROOF. — When  the  top 
floor  or  attic  beams  are  placed,  the  tempo- 
rary floor  described  above  must  be  laid 
across  them.  This  can  be  made  up  of  the 
boards  to  be  used  in  covering  the  roof, 
usually  of  spruce  or  hemlock.  A  peak 
scaffold  must  next  be  constructed,  formed 
out  of  two  uprights,  2x4  studding,  and 
bearers  and  braces  of  strips  or  boards.  The 
height  can  be  taken  with  a  ten-foot  pole, 
by  measuring  off  the  height  from  the  floor 
to  the  ridge,  and  then  deducting  the  height 
of  a  man  who  will  stand  on  it;  thus,  if  the 
height  to  the  peak  be  twelve  feet,  then  the 
scaffold  should  be  about  six  feet  high.  It 
need  not  be  more  than  three  feet  wide,  or 
two  boards  in  width,  so  that  one  man  may 
stand  and  walk  on  it,  and  it  should  be  well 
braced.  When  the  scaffold  is  ready  the 
rafters  may  be  raised  in  the  following 
manner : 

Commencing  at  the  gable  end,  a  pair  of 
rafters  one  on  each  side  of  the  ridge  are 
set  up,  with  their  top  cuts  abutting,  and 
the  bottoms  on  the  plates  may  be  nailed 
solidly  to  each  plate.  Another  pair  pre 
set  up  similarly  on  the  other  gable,  or  near 
the  valley  if  there  be  one  on  the  roof.  The 
ridge  is  next  lifted  up  and  set  in  between 
the  peak  cuts,  and  there  solidly  nailed. 
These  can  now  be  braced  by  nailing  on  a 
board  reaching  from  the  rafter  on  the  gable 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


to  the  plate.  This  will  be  enough  at  first. 
The  intervening  rafters,  spaced  sixteen 
inches  or  twelve  inches  on  centres,  as  de- 
sired, set  up  in  place,  care  being  taken  to 
keep  the  ridge  straight  in  nailing  Hips, 
valleys  and  jacks  are  next  set  up  and  the 
whole  roof  well  braced  diagonally  with 
several  boards  to  prevent  it  being  over- 
turned by  the  wind. 

Collar  beams  may  be  inserted  either  be- 
fore  or   a*ter   the   roof  is  covered,  but  the 


FIG.  22 — PERSPECTIVE  VIEW  OF  A  BRACED  FRAME. 


safest  method  is  to  cut  and  nail  them  in 
before  the  roof  boards  are  nailed  on. 

The  projecting  ends  of  the  attic  floor 
beams  are  now  sawed  off  and  the  roof  is 
ready  for  cornice  and  covering. 

Much  the  same  rule  will  apply  to  the 
framing  of  porches  and  piazzas  with  their 
roofs  ;  that  is,  the  plate  is  nailed  on  first, 
then  the  beims,  the  floor  is  next  laid  and 
the  posts  and  roof  are  then  set  up. 

Porch  and  piazza  floor  beams  should  be 
laid  parallel  to  the  front  of  the  house  and 


pitched  down  and  out  about  half  an  n.ch 
in  every  twelve  inches,  in  order  that  the 
joints  of  the  flooring  max  be  in  the  line  of 
the  water  running  off  the  house.  This  will 
give  three  inches  pitch  in  a  6-foot  porch, 
enough  to  keep  it  always  dry  and  prevent 
rot  Porch  floor  beams  should  either  rest 
on  brick  piers  or  good  posts,  and  have 
sufficient  footing  to  prevent  settlement. 

S  )me  builders  set  inside  partitions  at 
the  sam^  time  as  the  outside  walls,  before 
covering  in,  but  this  hinders 
free  movement  on  the  floor 
Ahen  working,  handling  tim- 
bers, etc.  Inside  partitions 
should  always  be  set  first  on 
the  first  floor,  and  then  on  the 
se_ond  floor,  and  so  on  up, 
thus  maintaining  the  levelness 
of  each.  Great  care  must  be 
exercised  to  have  all  door  and 
window  studs  perfectly  plumb, 
and  headers  perfectly  level. 

All  nailing  should  be  done 
without  spliiting  the  timber, 
nor  should  the  hammer  head 
be  driven  into  the  wood  any 
more  than    necessary.     This 
should  be  especially  guarded 
against  in  toenailing,  as  too 
often  the    end  of  the  rafter, 
stud,  etc.,  is  broken  off  and  the 
nails  have  no  hold  whatever. 
Long  beams,  hips  and  valley  rafters  must 
be  kept  straight  from  end  to  end  by  sight- 
ing them   through   with  the  eye,  likewise 
all  long  studding.     This  is  essential  for  the 
reason  that  the  spacing  must  be  accurate 
for  the  plasterer's  lath,  flooring,  boarding, 
etc. 

Balloon  framed  houses  are  a  better  job 
when  sheathed  or  boarded  diagonally.  It 
is  a  little  more  expensive  in  the  labor,  but 
stiffens  the  whole  construction. 

Thirty    and    twenty-penny    spikes,    and 


28 


HOW  TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


4*6" 


ten-penny  cut  nails  or  wire  nails  are  the  and  the  parts  are  of  the  following  sizes  and 
best  for  nailing  together  the  timbers  of  thus  framed :  The  sill,  generally  a  4x6" 
balloon  framed  houses.  or  6x8"  timber  is  halved  together  at  the 

A  ladder  for  climbing  floors  can  be 
readily  made  up  of  two  sound  2"x4"  joists 
and  ^}"x2"  cleats  or  strips  nailed  on  the 
edges  of  the  joists  with  eight-penny  n  ils. 
Steps  to  be  spaced  12  inches  apart. 

NAILS    FOR    FLOORING    AND    ROOFING. 

The  following  table  will  give  carpenters 
the  proper  size  of  nails  to  order  for  any 
job.  The  table  is  for  ordinary  widths  from 
3-inch  to  7-inch  boards  : 


Thickness 

TABLE. 

No.    to 

of  floor  . 

Size. 

Length. 

pound. 

•J  inch 

8  penny 

2£  inches 

92 

1£  inches 

10-penny 

3    inches 

60 

If  inches 

12-penny 

3J  inches 

44 

If  inches 

16-penny 

3£  inches 

32 

2    inches 

16-penny 

3|  inches 

32 

2J  inches 

20-penny 

4     inches 

24 

2£  inches 

20-penny 

4    inches 

24 

2J  inches 

20-penny 

4    inches 

24 

CHAPTER  VII. 

BRACED    FRAME    HOUSES — How   TO    LAY 
OUT,  FRAME  AND  CONSTRUCT  THEM. 

Frame  houses  constructed  on  the  braced 
system  differ  from  those  of  the  balloon  type 
in  the  fact  that  the  timbers  with  which  the 
whole  frame  is  made  up  are  framed  or 
mortised  and  tenoned  together  so  as  to  be 
solidly  and  securely  fastened. 

In  this  respect  houses  constructed  in 
this  manner  differ  from  those  constructed 
on  the  balloon  principle  as  in  the  latter  the 
pieces  are  simply  held  together  by  nails 
while  in  the  former  they  are  mortised, 
tenoned  and  pinned.  Braced  frames  are 
the  best  constructed  for  frame  houses.  By 
reason  of  its  great  expense  this  system  is 
not  so  popular  as  the  balloon  principle,  yet 
as  it  is  sometimes  adopted  in  good  or  large 
work  every  carpenter  should  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  it. 

Fig.  22  is  a  skeleton  or  perspective  view 
of  the  side  walls  of  a  braced  frame  house 


FIG.  23 — FRAMING  OF  POST  AND  SILL. 

corners  and  mortised  out,  for  the  foot  of 
the  posts  where  they  occur,  whether  at  the 
corners  or  other  places  on  the  sill.  In- 
termediate posts  are  often  draw  pinned  as 


FIG.  24 — FRAMING  OF  GIRT  AND  BRACE. 

shown  in  the  engraving,  but  this  is  scarcely 
necessary  as  the  weight  of  the  post  is  in 
itself  sufficient  to  keep  the  tenon  in  the 


HOW    TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


29 


mortise.  Fig.  23  will  give  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  method  of  framing  the  foot  of  a 
post  into  the  sill.  The  tenon  is  about  2 
inches  square  and  2  inches  deep  and  the 
mortise  is  the  same  size,  2^  inches  deep. 
The  principal  object  of  the  tenon  is  to  pre- 
vent the  post  slipping  off  the  sill. 

Referring  again  to  Fig.  22  it  will  be  seen 


FIG.  25 — SIDE  VIEW  OF  BRACED  FRAME. 
that  the  first  floor  beams  rest  on  the  sill 
being  suppoited  in  the  centre  of  the  width 
of  the  house  by  a  girder  or  heavy  timber 
6xio"  or  8x12"  according  to  the  width. 
These  first  floor  beams  are  usually  2x10" 
or  2x8"  timber  and  either  rest  directly  on 
the  sill  or  are  halved  out  to  rest  on  both 
sill  and  stonework  of  foundation.  Here  I 
have  for  simplicity  drawn  them  resting  en- 
tirely on  the  sill. 


The  second  floor  beams  are  supported 
by  a  timber  termed  "  a  girt "  or  intertie, 
which  is  mortised  and  tenoned  into  the  post 
in  the  manner  shown  at  Fig.  24,  on  the  top 
of  the  engiaving.  Here  also  will  be  seen 


FIG.  26. 

the  method  of  framing  the  end  of  the 
braces  into  the  posts,  sills,  girts,  wall  plates, 
etc.,  ir>  order  to  obtain  a  rigid  construction. 
The  mortise  is  cut  in  square  but  by  reason 


FIG.  27. 

of  the  brace  being  on  the  angle  it  is  neces- 
sary that  one  side  be  on  the  angle  as  shown 
and  the  gain  to  receive  the  thrust  of  the 
brace  will  require  to  be  set  on  in  the  way 
represented  above  the  dotted  line  in  the  en- 
larged engraving  of  the  framed  end  of  the 
brace. 

All  posts,  girts  and  braces  and  plates  are 
draw-bored   after  being  framed  to  receive 


HOW  TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


the  pins.     An  inch  auger  bit  is  generally 
used. 

By  "draw-boring"  is  meant  that  the  hole 


in    the    tenon    is    generally  nearer    to   the 
shoulder  of  the  piece  tenoned  than  the  hole 


in  the  mortise,  in  order  that  the  taper  pin 
may  draw  the  shoulder  closely  up  against 
the  piece  which  has  the  mortise.  Pins 
should  be  I  inch  diameter  and  made  of  oak 
for  a  spruce  or  yellow  pine  frame. 

Studding  in  braced  frames  is  sometimes 
tenoned  into  mortises  in  sill  plates,  girts, 
etc.,  but  the  time  it  costs  to  pursue  this 
method  is  fast  doing  away  with  it  and  they 
are  nowadays  mostly  cut  in  "  barefoot"  or 
without  tenons,  having  only  a  squared  butt 
end 

At  Fig.  25  will  be  seen  a  side  view  of  a 
braced  frame  showing  the  main  parts  as  at 
Fig.  22,  also  the  studding  set  at  the  frame 
round  a  door  and  window,  the  plates  set 
on,  and  part  of  the  roof  raised. 

The    plates   are   4x4"    stuff  halved    to 
gether  at  the  corners  and  mortised  on  the 
under  side  to  receive  the  top  ends  of  the 
posts.     The  positions  of  the   timbers  will 
be  readily  comprehended  from  the  engrav- 


FIG.  28 — PLAN. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


ings,  Figs.  25  and  26,  as  they  are  very  clear, 
and  by  a  comparison  with  Fig.  22  will  be 
easily  reproduced  in  actual  work. 

When  laying  out  braced  frames  care 
should  be  taken  to  lay  out  and  frame  all 
the  sills,  posts,  girts,  braces,  studs,  plates, 
etc.,  the  exact  length;  they  should  also  be 
very  carefully  mortised,  tenoned  and  fitted 
together  before  the  pairing.  When  framing 
the  post  the  mortises  for  the  girts  must  be 
placed  one  underneath  the  othei.  Fig.  26, 
being  an  enlarged  view  of  the  framing,  will 
illustrate  how  this  is  done  and  it  will  be 
seen  in  some  of  the  preceding  engravings. 
It  will  also  be  noticed  that  the  shoulder  of 
the  girt  is  gained  into  the  post.  This  is 
often  done  in  high  class  work  though  it  is 
scarcely  necessary,  because  the  square 
shoulder  with  the  braces  and  studding 
under  any  girt  is  sufficiently  strong  with- 
out gaining  it  in. 

I  cannot  lay  too  much  stress  on  the 
necessity  for  very  carefully  measuring  all 
the  pieces,  especially  the  braces,  which  may 
either  be  laid  down  to  scale,  or  full  size,  or 
laid  out  with  the  steel  square. 

When  raising,  the  cellar  girders  and  sills 
are  first  set  on  the  stone  foundation,  then 
the  sides  are  set  up,  the  posts  being  first 
placed  and  braced  with  boards,  then  the 
side  girts  are  inserted  in  the  mortises  and 
pinned ;  the  end  girts  come  next  and  after 
this  the  studding  on  first  story  (if  cut  in  bare- 
foot). If  not,  the  whole  side  framing,  sill, 
girt,  and  all  may  be  put  together,  pinned 
and  raised  as  one  "  bent  "  or  piece  of  fram- 
ing. The  wall  plates  and  second  story 
studding  may  be  set  up  after  the  second 
floor  beams  are  set  and  a  temporary  floor 
laid  on  them  to  walk  on. 

Fig.  27  will  show  the  method  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  framing  round  a  chimney  breast, 
with  a  header,  tail  beams  and  trimmers. 

In  the  foregoing  engraving  readers  will 
obtiin  full  information  in  regard  to  the 


manner  of  placing  a  framing  together,  posts 
and  girts  in  barn  or  other  heavy  framing, 
so  as  to  obtain  great  strength. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

How  TO  FRAME  OUT  A  BAY  WINDOW  ON 
THE  FIRST   OR  SECOND  STORIES. 

This  is  a  problem  in  the  construction  of 
frame  dwellings  which  sometimes  occurs 
and  taxes  the  ingenuity  of  many  carpen- 
ters, so  in  this  chapter  I  am  pleased  to 
offer  some  explanation  of  the  methods  of 
doing  it. 

Usually,  bay  windows,  either  of  square  or 
octagonal  plan,  are  on  the  first  story,  built 
with  the  rest  of  the  frame,  and  having  the 
sill  resting  on  a  stone  or  brick  foundation, 
the  sill  being  on  a  level  with  the  main  sill 
of  the  house. 

Sometimes  this  does  not  occur  and  the 
architect  may  either  frame  out  a  bay  win- 
dow on  the  first  story  or  place  it  on  the 
second  story.  Often  two  windows  are  in- 
troduced, as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to 
the  illustrations. 

As  to  the  methods  of  framii.g  out  these 
windows  I  have  shown  two  at  Fig.  28.  On 
the  front  or  right  side  the  bay  window  de- 
mands special  framing;  because  it  cannot 
be  supported  on  the  floor  beams  or  joists 
in  the  way  by  which  the  side  window  is 
obtained.  On  the  side  the  floor  timbers 
are  simply  allowed  to  project  out  beyond 
the  face  of  the  wall,  the  projection  neces- 
sary to  support  the  octagonal  form  shown, 
and  the  plate  upon  which  rests  the  window 
studs  necessary  for  the  bay  are  nailed  on 
top  of  them.  The  plan,  Fig.  28,  will  give 
the  readers  a  clear  conception  of  this  con- 
struction. 

For  the  window  on  the  front  a  very  dif- 
ferent form  of  framing  prevails.  Here  the 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


fact  that  the  bay  must  be  supported  by 
floor  beams  at  right  angles  to  the  regu- 
lar floor  beams  of  the  house  compels  the 
carpenter  to  use  his  ingenuity  in  supporting 
the  window  safely,  and  I  therefore  put  for- 
ward illustrated  to  the  right  of  the  plan, 
Fig.  28  and  the  elevation  Fig.  29.  The 
principle  adopted  is  that  of  cantilever  and  is 
simple  in  construction  and  quickly  framed. 


PI, 


WifJjc 


WijOuov 


FIG.  29 — ELEVATION. 

It  will  be  noticed,  then,  that  the  two  cen- 
tral supporting  beams  rest  on  a  plate  placed 
under  them  which  is  in  turn  directly  car- 
ried by  the  first  story  wall  studding,  and 
that  they  are  mortised  and  tenoned  into 
one  of  the  floor  beams  (the  third  from  the 
wall),  thus  making  the  floor  beams  balance, 
as  it  were,  the  weight  of  the  bay  window 
timbers  resting  on  it  outside  the  face  of  the 
wall.  In  a  similar  manner  the  two  outside 
projecting  and  supporting  beams  are  mor- 


tised  and  tenoned  into  the  second  beam 
from  the  wall  and  that  the  second  beam  is 
mortised  and  tenoned  into  the  central  beam 
on  each  opposite  side,  by  this  means  form- 
ing a  perfect  counter-poise.  Short  pieces 
of  beam  stuff  are  cut  in  between  the  sup- 
porting beams,  on  which  to  nail  the  floor- 
ing, also  on  the  angle  of  the  bays.  The 
mitre  cuts  of  the  octagon  may  be  found  by 

using  the  figures  7 
and  17  on  the  steel 
square  or  by  any 
of  the  simple 
methods  in  every- 
day use. 

Some  frame rs 
prefer  to  double 
up  the  third  or 
fourth  floor  timber 
and  frame  all  the 
supporting  timbers 
into  them,  but  I 
am  opposed  to  this 
plan  as  so  much 
mortising  weakens 
the  beam  and  does 
not  distribute  the 
strains. 

The  following 
figures  are  used 
in  order  to  find 
mitres  on  the  steel 
square  for  laying 
out  bay  windows  : 
12"  and  12  =Square  Mitre,  or  45° 


7         "4     =  Triangle    "       "  equilateral 
10     =Pentagon  "       "5-sidedfig. 
7      =  Hexagon  "       "  6     " 
6      ^Heptagon 
7X=Octagon 
9      =Nonagon 
3      =Decagon 
SHEATHING.  —  As    soon 
studs  are  in  portion,  the  building  should 
be  sheathed  with  inch  boards  nailed  diagon- 


4 

12*4 
ig' 

22 


"  "  7     "       " 

"  "8     "       " 

"  "  9     " 

"  "10     " 

as  the  exterior 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


33 


ally  so  as  to  give  additional  bracing  to  the 
studs. 

The  roof  should  be  sheathed  with  i  ^ 
inch  boards  to  allow  a  better  hold  for  the 
shingle  or  slate  nails. 

SHINGLING. — When  the  cornice  is  set  and 
the  gutters  on,  the  roof  is  sheathed,  the 
valleys  should  be  tinned  and  the  flashings 
put  around  the  chimneys,  the  tin  being  first 
carefully  painted  on  both  sides.  The  roof, 
with  the  exception  of  the  valleys,  is  also 
often  covered  with  felt  or  tarred  paper,  and 
the  shingles  are  then  put  on,  commencing 
at  the  eaves.  Each  shingle  should  be  laid 
with  three  laps,  according  to  the  weather, 
5,6  or  7  inches  as  may  be  required,  and 
each  should  be  nailed  with  two  galvanized 
iron  nails,  one  on  each  edge. 

CLAPBOARDING. — When  the  roof  is  com- 
pleted the  window  and  door  frames  are  in- 
serted, and  the  casings  or  architraves  nailed 
on.  The  building  is  then  covered  with  pre- 
pared paper  and  is  ready  for  clapboarding. 

Before  commencing  to  put  on  the  clap- 
boards, the  water  table  is  put  in  place,  and 
it  should  lap  i  y2  inches  over  the  foundation 
wall  on  its  lower  edge,  and  be  cut  on  its 
upper  edge  so  as  to  allow  the  clapboards 
to  form  a  tight  joint. 

'  The  clapboards  are  usually  ^  inch  thick, 
the  width  varying  from  5  to  6  inches.  The 
clapboards  should  lap  one  inch. 

Care  must  be  taken  to  have  a  tight  joint 
between  the  clapboards  and  the  door  and 
window  casings.  Strips  of  zinc  are  some- 
times laid  at  junction  of  clapboards  and 
casings,  and  this  is  particularly  desirable 
at  the  top  of  a  casing. 

GENERAL  HINTS. — If  wooden  posts  are 
used  to  support  a  girder  in  a  cellar,  they 
should  rest  on  a  stone  at  least  8  inches 
above  the  cellar  floor,  otherwise  the  lower 
end  is  liable  to  rot.  Cast  iron  columns 
are  better  than  wooden  posts  ;  brick  piers 
are  best. 


The  sill  being  near  the  ground,  and  usu- 
ally resting  on  a  wall  of  masonry,  which 
attracts  moisture,  is  liable  to  rot.  Care 
should  therefore  be  taken  to  have  the  top 
of  the  founda'ion  wall  at  least  18  inches 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  not  only 
to  insure  a  dry  wall  for  the  sill  to  rest 
upon,  but  to  prevent  water  from  working 
under  it  during  a  rain.  Decaying  sills  are 
a  fruitful  source  of  trouble  and  expense  in 
wooden  buildings. 

After  placing  the  sill,  lay  out  upon  it 
with  a  pencil  the  position  of  all  doors  and 
windows,  and  then  of  each  ^tud. 

For  spans  of  not  more  than  16  feet, 
2x10,  or  3x9  inch  joists  are  sufficient.  A 
wider  span  in  the  first  floor  can  generally 
be  reduced  by  a  girder  in  the  cellar. 

When  the  floor  beams  carry  a  partition, 
it  is  customary  to  put  in  a  girder,  or  two 
beams  are  laid  together.  Another  plan  is 
to  place  two  beams  six  inches  from  cen- 
tres ;  this  arrangement  gives  not  only  a 
bearing  for  the  studs,  but  an  opportunity 
for  solid  nailing  of  the  flooring. 

No  beam  should  be  placed  within  eight 
inches  of  a  flue.  A  space  of  two-  inches 
should  also  be  left  between  a  girder  and 
the  chimney  breast. 

The  main  partitions  upon  which  the 
beams  rest  in  a  house  when  the  beams  do 
not  extend  in  one  length  across  the  build- 
ins,  should  be  set  at  the  same  time  as  the 

O  ' 

exterior  studding. 

Such  partitions  should  rest  on  a  wall  of 
brick  or  stone,  or  upon  a  girder. 

Stud  partitions  should  never  be  used  in 
a  cellar.  The  studs  are  liable  to  rot  and 
to  harbor  vermin. 

No  beams  should  be  placed  on  a  parti- 
tion which  has  not  direct  support  from  the 
foundation,  unless  the  partition  itself  is 
trussed. 

In  all  partitions  carrying  beams,  or  wher- 
ever it  is  possible,  the  studs  should  rest 


34 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


on  2x4  inch  plates,  and  not  on  the  beams. 
The  object  of  this  is  to  avoid  settlement 
caused  by  shrinkage.  Timber  shrinks 
crosswise,  not  lengthwise.  The  shrinkage 
of  a  2-inch  plate  would  be  but  one-fourth 
of  the  shrinkage  of  a  beam  8  inches  deep. 
In  a  building  of  several  stories  this  be- 
come a  serious  difference  and  would  cause 
the  doors  to  settle  and  the  plaster  to  crack. 
Besides  the  main  partitions  there  are 
cross  partitions  which  of  necessity  rest  on 
the  floor  beams,  as  the  rooms  in  the  upper 
stories  are  usually  of  different  dimensions 
from  those  below.  It  is  sometimes  possi- 
ble to  truss  these  partitions  so  as  to  bring 
the  strain  on  the  exterior  studs  and  the 
main  partitions. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    CONSTRUCTION    OF    FRAMED    TENE- 
MENTS AND  FACTORIES. 

There  is  no  class  of  constructive  carpen- 
try which  requires  more  care,  skill  and 
calculation  than  the  houses  or  edifices  in 
which  a  number  of  persons  live,  work  or 
congregate,  as  in  this  class  strength  and 
safety  are  the  most  important  factors  to  be 
considered. 

This  is  especially  the  case  with  framed 
houses  which  are  built  to  accommodate 
three  or  more  families,  or  as  they  are 
commonly  called  "tenements  "  and  factories 
of  three,  four  or  more  stories  in  height, 
usually  running  from  35  to  60  feet  to  cor- 
nice, and  as  these  high  dimensions  neces- 
sitate doubling  and  splicing  of  vertical  sup- 
porting posts  and  other  bearing  timbers, 
special  attention  must  be  given  to  the 
framing  so  as  to  insure  absolute  strength 
and  safety. 

To  illustrate  this  I  have  in  this  article 
taken  as  an  example  for  illustration,  the 
practical  framing  of  four  four  story  timber 


tenements,  to  be  built  on  a  street  with  a 
hill  or  steep  grade.  The  pitch  is 
4  feet  in  25  feet  or  16  feet  drop  in  the 
whole  100  foot  plot  covered  by  the  four 
houses.  Each  house  measures  25  feet 
front  by  75  feet  deep,  and  being  each  on  a 
lot  100  feet  deep,  it  will  be  seen  there  is  a 
25-foot  jard  left  in  the  rear  which  is 
requisite  for  light  and  ventilation.  Fig.  30 


FIG.  30. — PLAN  OF  STORE  FLOOR. 

is  a  plan  of  one  house  showing  the  interior 
light  shafts,  which  in  the  case  of  framed 
tenements  are  better  laid  out  square  or  at 
right  angles  as  seen  in  the  engraving,  in 
order  that  the  cost  be  reduced  as  low  as 
possible,  as  obtuse  and  acute  angular  fram- 
ing is  very  costly,  not  alone  in  the  labor 
of  the  framing,  but  also  in  the  increased  cost 
of  the  extra  material  For  this  reason  it 


HOW  TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


35 


is  always  most  economical  to  arrange  the 
framing  with  square  corners,  as  shown  at 
Fig.  30.  In  building  the  stone  foundations 
the  first  house,  to  the  left,  or  that  on 
the  bottom,  has  the  side,  rear  and  front 
walls  level,  so  that  the  sills  will  be  level  all 
around.  House  No.  2  has  its  right-hand 
foundation  party  wall  4  feet  higher,  and 


FJG.  31. — SPLICING  POSTS. 

house  No.  3  has  its  right  party  wall  4  feet 
higher  still,  and  house  No.  4  has  its  wall  4 
feet  still  higher,  thus  compensating  for  the 
pitch  of  the  street,  which  will  be  seen  by  a 
study  of  Fig  3 3, which  is  an  elevation  of  the 
raised  and  framed  principal  timbers  of  the 
front  of  the  houses.  But  the  pitch  of  the 
street  will  affect  the  framing,  and  unless 
the  right-hand  stone  foundation  wall  be 
built  up  to  the  level  of  each  house  to  the 
right,  it  will  be  necessary  to  change  the 
sill  into  a  girt  or  tie,  and  to  mortise  and 
tenon  this  girt  into  the  front,  rear  and  in- 
termediate posts  to  properly  support  the 
first  story  floor  beams  which  rest  on  them, 
as  seen  in  this  figure  Similarly  the  front 
and  rear  sills  must  be  framed  on  the  left- 
hand  end  with  a  mortise  and  tenon,  so  as 
to  tie  the  whole  framed  construction  to- 
gether. From  the  above  it  will  be  seen 


that  much  study  must  be  devoted  to  the 
proper  laying  out  of  this  style  of  buildings 
by  the  carpenter  in  order  that  the  timbers 
may  fit  when  raised. 

Now  as  to  the  height,  which  is  of  course 
outside  the  usual  limit  of  one,  two  and 
three-story  cottages  and  the  like.  As  the 
corner  and  inside  party  and  gable  wall 
posts  are  so  high  that  it  would  not  be  pos- 
sible to  obiain  single  timbers  long  enough 
to  make  up  the  whole  height,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  join  two  or  more  sticks  end 
to  end,  and  to  brace  them  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  there  will  be  no  danger  of  their 
springing  or  buckling.  For  the  best  form 
of  vertical  joint  for  this  I  would  refer  the 
reader  to  sketch  shown  in  Fig.  31  That 
splice  on  the  left  is  to  my  mind  the  most 
economical  and  strongest  form  which  can 


FJG.  32. — FRAMING  OF  BRACE. 

be  used  in  this  class  of  work,  for  the  rea- 
son that  it  consumes  only  the  extra  length 
of  the  joint  on  the  timber,  and  is  easily 
ripped  down  from  the  end  with  the  saw, 
and  involves  no  chisel  work  whatever,  if 
done  by  a  careful  hand.  This  joint  is 
bolted  together,  and  is  stronger  than  that 
seen  on  the  right,  which  will  require  more 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


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HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


37 


cutting,  and  though  it  has  more  bearing 
surface,  is  not  so  good  or  cheap  as  the 
other. 

As  to  the  proper  bracing  of  long  posts,  for 
this  the  reader  would  be  wise  to  follow  the 
simple  corner  method,  which  is  clearly 
illustrated  in  Fig.  32,  with  the  tenon 
omitted.  I  am  entirely  opposed  to  putting 
tenons  and  mortises  on  these  braces,  and, 
though  the  method  is  old,  it  is  nevertheless 
bad,  because  the  mortising  of  the  girt 
weakens  it  and  forms  a  receptacle  for  dry 
rot  and  insects  when  the  timbers  shrink 
away  from  each  other  and  open  the  joint. 
Therefore  a  simple  scarf  with  a  spiked  joint 
is  the  best,  and  the  braces  are  so  easy  to 
slip  in  and  nail  in  place,  that  the  frame  is 
held  rigid  and  immovable,  and  none  of  the 
timbers  are  weakened  in  the  framing. 


This  form  of  building  may  also  be  framed 
and  raised  on  the  balloon  system,  but  if 
this  be  done  I  would  recommend  that  at 
least  girts  and  posts  be  used  to  carry  the 
floor  beams,  instead  of  a  ribbon,  which  is  a 
weak  construction;  in  fact,  the  frame  should 
be  half  frame  and  half  balloon,  so  as  to  make 
the  building  stiff  enough  to  withstand  wind 
pressure,  the  weight  of  snow  or  any  ordi- 
nary strain. 

Fig.  34  is  an  elevation  of  a  straight  gable, 
and  showing  the  braces,  and  this  angular 
framing  should  be  as  far  as  possible  in- 
troduced when  the  absence  of  windows 
permits  it.  If  possible,  also,  these  high 
framed  houses  should  be  sheathed  diag- 
onally. Sill  and  girts  might  also  be 
braced  from  piers  and  wall  for  additional 
strength. 


V  X 

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FIG.   34. — FRAMING  OF  GABLES  AND  PARTY  WALLS. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

How  TO  CONSTRUCT  A  FRAMED  AUDI- 
TORIUM. 

In  the  last  chapter  I  treated  on  the  de- 
tailed construction  of  framed  tenement 
dwellings ;  in  this  I  propose  to  explain 
fully  the  method  of  framing  large  assem- 
bly buildings,  as  adopted  in  one  of  the 
best  known  timber  auditoriums  in  the 
United  States,  the  place  where  many 
famous  pugilistic  encounters  have  taken 
place.  I  refer  to  the  building  called  the 
Coney  Island  Athletic  Club. 

This  immense  framed  structure  was  orig- 
inally designed  and  built  for  a  skating 
rink  at  the  time  of  the  skating  craze  in 
1884,  and  measured  125  feet  in  width  by 
300  feet  in  length  over  all.  The  building 
consists  of  three  parts  or  sections  on  plan, 
namely,  a  main  floor  or  exhibition  part  75 
feet  in  width  and  two  aisles  or  wings,  re- 
served for  galleries  for  spectators,  each  25 
feet  wide. 

The  construction  mainly  consisted  of  a 
series  of  brick  piers  and  timber  13  inch 
posts,  spaced  15  feet  apart  and  sunk  to 
rest  on  concrete  bases,  as  seen  in  the  trans- 
verse section  of  the  building  Fig.  36,  each 
capped  with  an  8-inch  blue  stone.  On 
these,  heavy  12x1 4-inch  yellow  pine  longi- 
tudinal girders  were  set ;  the  outside 
lines  of  girders  allowing  the  ends  of  the 
1 2x1 2-inch  square  vertical  columns  to  rest 
directly  on  the  centers  o-f  the  cap  stones, 
the  girders  being  tied  together  by  an  in- 
side 3 -inch  band  solidly  spiked  to  the 
posts  and  girders  as  seen  in  Fig  36.  On 
these  girders  the  floor  beams  were  placed, 
spaced  16  inches  apart  and  overlapped  and 
spiked  together  at  the  girders 

When  the  main  supporting  columns  were 
framed  and  raised,  they  were  plumbed  and 
strongly  braced  to  the  floor  beams  with 
2-inch  plank  braces,  and  thus  held  until 


the  braces  and  wall  plates  were  framed, 
raised  and  set.  Here  I  might  state  that 
the  raising  was  all  done  with  gin  poles, 
one  being  a  light  lo-inch  stick  of  yellow 
pine  timber,  used  for  the  post  and  timbers, 
and  the  other,  used  to  raise  the  trusses, 
being  an  immense  round  stick  of  Canadian 
spruce  60  feet  long,  10  inches  at  the  top 
and  1 6  inches  at  the  butt.  Both  were 
stayed  with  rope  guys  and  rigged  with  four 
sheaved  blocks  and  tackles,  thus  giving 
great  lifting  power.  The  last  pole  was 
equipped  with  a  drum  and  horse  gear. 
When  the  plates  were  being  framed  and  set, 
a  special  gang  of  men  was  engaged  in 
framing  and  putting  together  the  trusses, 
the  design  of  which  is  readily  seen  at  Fig. 
35.  They  were  of  the  Howe  class,  modified 
to  give  a  pitch  to  the  roof,  and  consisted 
of  a  lower  chord  or  tie  beam  75  feet  long, 

« 

made  up  of  two  4O-foot  8xi 2-inch  yellow 
pine  timbers  spliced  at  the  center  as  at 
Fig.  3  and  strengthened  by  having  a  2-inch 
oak  plate  bolted  on  each  side  to  prevent 
its  breaking  or  springing  sideways.  Into 
the  upper  edge  of  this  beam  was  framed 
the  principal  rafter  A,  Fig.  35,  the  diagonal 
braces  and  struts  all  being  fitted  with 
tenons  and  the  beams  mortised  to  receive 
them.  Each  end  of  each  diagonal  brace 
abutted  at  the  upper  and  lower  chordal 
beams,  and  each  brace  was  coped  out  to  fit 
over  the  2-inch  wrought  iron  suspension  tie 
rods,  which  tightened  up  the  entire  truss. 

The  trusses  were  braced  with  long  diag- 
onal corner  braces  to  the  posts,  thus  stiffen- 
ing the  building  laterally,  directly  under 
each  truss,  and  carrying  the  pressure  down 
to  each  post  and  thence  to  the  pent  or  lean 
to  shed  roofs  of  the  wings  or  aisles,  which 
being  constructed  of  main  posts  opposite 
the  columns  which  are  braced  laterally  from 
the  rafters  overhead,  and  longitudinally 
from  the  plate  to  the  post,  thus  making  it 
a  strong  and  rigid  structure. 


I 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


39 


On  top  of  the  upper  chord  of  the  prin- 
cipal trusses  short  5 -foot  uprights,  resting 
on  a  longitudinal  plate  were  raised  so  as 
to  give  the  light  from  above  and  permit  of 


pivoted  sashes  being  set  in  the  sides  for 
ventilation.  These  were  set  in  frames 
nailed  to  studding  and  were  set  close  to- 
gether so  as  to  give  plenty  of  air  space. 


b 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A   HOUSE. 


FIG.  36. 


Or 

FIG.  37- 


FIG.  38. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  REVIEWING  STANDS 
AS  USED  IN  THE  DEWEV  PARADE  IN  NEW 
YORK. 

I  know  of  no  greater  tribute  to  the  skill, 
care,  ability,  and  trustworthiness  of  Ameri 
can    carpenters   than    that   evinced    in   the 


FIG.  39. — GENERAL  VIEW  OF  FRAMING 
OF  DEWEY  ARCH. 

construction  of  the  triumphal  arch  and 
tremendous  number  of  reviewing  stands 
erected  along  Riverside  Drive,  Seventy- 
second  Street,  Eighth  Avenue,  Fifty-ninth 
Street,  and  Fifth  Avenue  for  reviewing  the 
parade  in  which  Admiral  Dewey  was  the 
central  figure.  There  were  over  1,000  re- 
viewing stands  and  platforms  built  to  ac- 
commodate 2,000,000  persons,  and  these 
were  framed,  raised,  braced  and  nailed  in 
such  a  way  by  the  union  carpenters  of 
New  York,  that  there  was  not  one  of  them 
which  strained,  fell,  or  caused  accident. 

In  order  to  show  the   carpenters   of  the 
entire  country  some  of  the  constructive  de- 


tails of  the  caipenter  work  done  during 
this  celebration,  we  will  commence  with 
the  timberwork  of  the  Dewey  triumphal 
arch,  erected  on  Fifth  Avenue  at  Madison 
Square. 

This  splendid  piece  cf  framed  and  nailed 
carpentry  was  built  up  of  various  sizes  of 
timbers,  running  from  8x8  inches  to  T/% 
inch  scantling,  and  was  carried  up  on  the 
diagonal  system  of  bracing  as  illustrated  at 
Fig.  39,  which  is  a  perspective  view  of  the 
timber  framing  before  the  staff  was  put  on. 
(As  this  illustration  is  made  from  memory, 
I  have  purposely  omitted  many  timbers  so 
as  not  to  confuse  the  drawing.)  The 
abutting  joints  of  each  length  necessary  to 
make  the  full  height  of  60  feet  were  cleated 


FIG.  40. — SECTION  OF  FRAMING  OF  A 
20-FooT  STAND. 

together,  nailed  and  bolted,  aftei \\ards 
being  braced  with  diagonal  braces  reversed 
across  on  the  diagonal  on  the  insides  and 
outsides  of  the  uprights.  For  the  arches 
intersecting  east  and  west  intermediate 
uprights  were  inserted,  these  also  being 
diagonally  braced  vertically,  and  horizontal 
diagonal  bracing  from  corner  to  corner  was 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


used  to  stiffen  the  whole  construction  lat- 
erally. This  unusual  job  of  extemporized 
framing  was  done  without  accident,  and 
made  so  strong  and  rigid  that  it  sustains 
the  weight  of  the  staff  of  which  the  cover- 
ing and  modeled  work  is  composed  with- 
out a  sign  of  strain  or  fracture.  I  might 
state  here  that  the  plaster  work  and  staff 


FlG.  41 — SECTION  OF  A  25-FOOT    STAND. 

was  spread  on  plaster  boards  and  wire  lath 
which  were  solidly  nailed  to  the  timber 
work  underneath. 

The  construction  of  the  pedestals  of  the 
single  and  double  colums,  forming  the 
approach  to  the  arch,  were  a  comparatively 
simple  matter,  as  the  columns  were  made 
up  of  poles,  sunk  in  the  street,  and  around 
these  platforms  of  timber  were  built  to  the 
desired  height,  being  of  2-inch  plank  car- 
ried on  3  feet  x  6  inch  or  other  uprights 
and  braced  diagonally,  all  bridging,  cleat?, 
etc.,  being  cut  in  and  fitted  where  required 
by  the  sculptors  and  their  assistants,  thus 
forming  a  rigid  groundwork  for  the  artistic 
work,  which  so  embellished  the  most  im- 
portant part  of  the  demonstration. 

Now  as  to  the  construction  of  the  re- 
viewing stands,  which  were  erected  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  a  better  opportunity  to 
see  the  parade,  which  consisted  not  only  of 


the  hero  of  Manila  and  many  representative 
citizens,  but  also  30,000  troops.  As  this 
immense  body  of  men  occupied  five  hours 
in  passing  a  given  point,  it  necessarily  fol- 
lowed that  seating  accommodation  should 
be  provided  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
persons.  To  do  this  required  millions  of 
feet  of  lumber  and  the  united  labor  of  5,000 
carpenters  and  10,000  laborers.  In  order 
to  give  some  idea  of  the  immense  amount 
of  seats  built,  I  would  state  that  on  River- 
side Drive  on  ten  blocks  there  were  30,000 
seats  built,  which  were  almost  entirely  oc- 
cupied, and  the  capacity  of  the  stands  along 
the  route  varied  from  ten  persons  to  5,000 
persons.  From  these  figures  some  idea  of 
the  vast  amount  of  work  may  be  esti- 
m  ited,  especially  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  route  was  over  six  miles  long,  and 
therefore  I  say  great  credit  is  due  to  those 
who  did  the  work  and  built  the  stands. 

As  to  their  construction,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble the  diagonal  system  of  bracing  was 
adhered  to,  the  uprights  being  cut  harefoot 
top  and  bottom,  and  butted  together  at  the 


FiGS.  42  AND  43. 

joints  and  secured  with  cleats,  well  spiked, 
to  prevent  their  buckling  or  spreading. 

At  Figs.  40  and  4 1  sections  of  the  methods 
are  represented,  and  here  will  be  noticed 
the  great  value  of  this  form  of  bracing,  as 
by  its  aid  comparatively  light  uprights  may 
be  made  capable  of  sustaining  a  very  heavy 
weight,  provided  the  possibility  of  shearing 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


43 


or  buckling  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Shearing  can  only  be  prevented  by  having 
a  sufficient  area  of  timber  and  of  a  nature 
sufficiently  tough  to  fully  resist  the  com- 
pressive  force  Buckling  is  prevented  by 
cross  ties,  braces,  etc,  or  the  tensile  strength 
of  the  timber  itself,  and  the  height  of  the 
post,  and  superincumbent  weight  regulates 
this. 


FIG.  44 — BRACKETS  NAILED  ON. 

The  majority  of  the  reviewing  stands 
from  6  to  25  feet  in  height  were  built  of 
4x6  inch  and  6x6  inch  spruce  timbers, 
spaced  about  6  feet  on  centres  and  braced 
about  6  feet  in  the  height.  The  sloping 
bearers  varied  from  3x6-inch  to  3xio-inch, 
also  of  spruce,  and  braces  from  2x6,  2x4, 
2x2,  1x6,  1x7,  1x2  and  so  on  as  the  tim- 
ber came,  so;ne  of  it  being  second-hand 
timber.  Apropos  of  second  hand  timber, 
I  would  say  that  its  extreme  hardness  and 
brittleness  lessens  its  value  as  a  bearing 
timber,  in  addition  to  its  great  liability  to 
split  when  being  nailed,  which  latter  pecu- 
liarity I  noticed  existant  in  much  of  the 
hemlock  used. 

The  brackets  were  mostly  nailed  on  the 
top  edges  of  the  sloping  bearers,  as  at 
Figs.  42  and  43,  though  some,  those  of  I  ^ 
inch  hemlock,  were  spiked  on  the  sides  in 
the  way  seen  at  Fig.  44  and  fitted  with  a 
small  upright.  Many  of  the  stands  had 
chairs  on  the  platforms  which  averaged  4 
feet  in  width,  and  again  many  had  simple 
benches  consisting  of  9  inch  T/%  boards  on 


1 6  inch  uprights,  well  braced,  and  nailed 
with  wire  nails,  which  nails  were  almost 
universally  used  in  the  stands,  the  reason 
of  which,  I  since  learned  from  the  builders, 
was  to  save  the  timber  as  much  as  possible, 
as  these  nails  pull  out  easily  with  the 
hammer. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
How  TO   BUILD  A  GKAIN    ELEVATOR. 

Grain  elevators  are,  as  far    as    I    know, 
of  a    composite    construction,   namely,  of 


L 


n    n 


DDDDD 


FJG.  45. —  ELEVATION  OF  AN  ELEVATOR. 

masonry,  iron,  and  wood.  The  usual 
method  of  construction  followed  is,  as  in 
Fig.  45,  to  make  the  footings  and  founda- 
tions concrete  or  stone,  the  first  and  second 
stories  of  brick,  as  A,  as  these  are  the  dis- 
tributing floors,  and  the  superstructure  of 
timber.  For  the  better  elucidation  of  this 
I  would  refer  the  reader  to  the  sketches 


44 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


which  accompany  this  description,  as  they 
are  from  the  actual  work  as  I  have  seen  it 
built. 

As  the  inquirer  will  perceive,  the  second 
section  or  story  is  built  of  timber,  so  as  to 
form  bins,  or  boxes,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  and  storing  the  different  kinds  of 
grain  ;  and  in  order  to  construct  the  bins  a 
very  unique  yet  simple  form  of  construc- 
tion is  followed  out.  Fig.  46  is  a  cross- 
section  taken  through  B,  the  second  story, 
or  bins,  and  fully  illustrates  the  method. 


It  consists  of  starting  the  bottom  of  2- 
inch  or  3 -inch  layers  of  plank  timber,  14 
or  1 6  inches  wide,  on  top  of  the  first  story 
masonry  and  gradually  stepping  back  in 
i -inch  steps  till  the  thickness  of  the  wall, 
6  or  8  inches,  is  reached,  crossing  all  joints 
intersecting  where  possible  and  scattering 
all  joints  so  as  to  obtain  the  greatest  pos- 
sible strength.  •  All  nails  are  long  enough 
to  dovetail  into  three  thicknesses  of  tim- 
ber, and  steel  wire.  Corners  are  over- 
lapped. All  this  will  be  clearly  under- 


FIG.  46 — METHOD  OF  BUILDING  BINS  i>v  OVERLAPPING  AND  CROSSING  JOINTS 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


45 


stood  by  a  close  study  of  Fig.  46,  which  is 
an  isometrically  projected  drawing  of  one 
corner  of  the  bin  section,  showing  the 
laminated,  or  built-up,  method  of  construct- 
ing the  bins.  On  account  of  the  ever-vary- 
ing grains,  breaking  of  joints,  and  multitu- 
dinous quantity  of  nails  (dovetailed),  this 
form  of  building  bins  is  of  enormous 
strength,  and  can  be  carried  to  a  great 
height,  and  makes  a  very  strong,  capable 


FIG.  47 — PLAN  OR  SECTION. 

louse.  The  amount  of  cutting  and  fitting 
id  nailing  involved  is  tremendous,  but 
the  bins  are  of  great  strength  and  content, 
;ach  of  those  represented  here  containing 
dmost  7,000  cubic  feet.  When  the  bin 
section  is  built  up  to  a  height  of  75  feet, 
bhe  upper  portion  C  is  framed  and  raised 
)f  wood  on  a  braced-frame  principle,  so  as 
to  be  light  and  strong.  The  whole  should 
>e  covered  with  slate,  iron,  or  tin. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FRAMING    PROJECTING    STORIES   AND    BAY 
WINDOWS;  ALSO  GENERAL  HINTS. 

This   problem  in   house  framing  is  one 

fhich    is    coming   up  continuously  in  the 

instruction   of  small  frame  cottages  and 

rill  be  found  useful  by  carpenters  who  do 

lis    class    of  work.      The    Queen    Anne 


style    of  shingled  house  especially,  as   in 
their  design,  is  the  most  effective. 

Referring  to  Fig.  48  of  the  sketches, 
readers  will  comprehend  what  is  meant  by 
a  projecting  story,  and  will  see  that  it  is 
the  pushing  out  of  the  front  of  the  second 
story  beyond  the  front  of  the  first  story 
below  ;  also  by  setting  out  the  third  story 
or  gable  beyond  the  second  story,  thus 
getting  a  very  effective  front.  This  con- 
struction should  be  done  carefully  and  with 
a  close  attention  to  the  strains  which  will 
be  permanently  placed  upon  the  timbers, 
so  that  there  may  be  no  straining  of  the 
timbers  and  consequent  cracking  of  the 
plaster,  so  that  I  will  now  proceed  to  give 
the  best  form  of  construction  to  be  fol- 
lowed. Fig.  49  is  a  section  of  the  three 
stories  of  the  house  from  the  sill  to  the 
ridge  showing  the  constructive  timbers, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  as  the  greatest 
strain  comes  on  the  first  story,  the  timbers 
of  that  story  must  be  of  increased  strength 
in  order  to  safely  support  the  superstruc- 
ture above.  This  will  include  the  posts, 
studding,  floor,  beams  and  plates.  For  an 
ordinary  two-story  framed  cottage  the 
posts  will  do  at  4  inches  x  6  inches,  the 
studding  at  4  inches  x  4  inches  for  the 
first  story,  and  3  inches  x  4  inches  for  the 
second  story;  the  second  story  floor  beams 
will  do  at  3  inches  x  10  inches  and  the 
roof  at  2  inches  x  8  inches.  All  these 
timbers  will  require  to  be  carefully  and 
accurately  framed  and  braced  to  make  sure 
that  all  support  the  framing  above,  and 
prevent  that  lateral  movement  which  is 
only  too  common  in  modern  balloon 
frames,  so  that  the  lower  stories  must  be 
braced  at  angles  to  stiffen  it  thoroughly  if 
possible.  It  is  best  to  frame  the  angles 
with  a  mortise  and  tenon  brace  ;  but  should 
the  expense  prevent  this  the  balloon  fram- 
ing and  braces  which  I  illustrate  in  Fig.  48 
will  be  sufficient;  when  the  studs  are  thick 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


FIG.  48 — FRONT  VIEW  OF  FRAMING. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


47 


as  4  inches  x  4  inches  or  4  inches  x  6 
inches  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  double 
them  at  doors  and  windows  nor  need  the 
headers  be  doubled. 

When  framing  over  openings  it  is  essen- 
tial that  the  plates  supporting  the  first  and 
second  story  floor  beams  will  be  required 
"  to  be  trussed ',"  and  the  strain  carried  di- 
rectly over  to  the  upright  studs  without 
resting  on  the  cripples  or  headers.  This 
trussing  must  be  inserted  over  large  door 
openings,  and  should  a  bay  window  occur, 
a  lattice  girder  truss  from  12  inches  to  18 
inches  deep  will  require  to  be  placed  under 
the  floor  beams  to  prevent  any  subsidence 
of  the  plates. 

Regarding  the  use  of  a  ribbon,  which 
some  favor  in  projecting  out  second  stories, 
I  would  say  that  it  can  be  used  with  per- 
fect safety  if  of  not  less  than  10  inches  in 
depth,  but  it  is  not  an  economical  method 
of  construction,  for  the  reason  of  too  much 
cutting  of  the  timber  and  consequent 
waste.  The  methods  illustrated  in  Figs. 
48  and  49  carrying  a  separate  plate  carrying 
;ach  tier  of  floor  beams  is  the  simplest  and 
easiest  raised.  It  will  be  noticed  in  these 
figures  that  the  corner  posts  and  studding 
of  the  sidewalls  are  carried  up  so  as  to 
leave  the  top  of  the  plate  of  the  sidewalls 
level  with  the  top  edge  of  the  ceiling  beams. 
Including  these  suggestions  pertaining  to 
projecting  stories,  I  might  say  that  this  in- 
formation was  requested  from  me  some 
time  since,  and  that  it  is  only  now  that  I 
im  able  to  present  it  to  my  readers. 

DIFFERENT  METHODS  OF  BRACING  PAR- 
TITIONS.— After  careful  observations  of 
many  partitions,  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
average  carpenter  and  builder  is  not  really 
aware  of  their  true  structural  value.  Most 
mechanics  regard  a  partition  simply  as  a 
wood  and  plaster  wall,  for  separating  rooms 
and  supporting  the  floor  beams  above,  and 


though  these  are  their  principal  objects, 
they  should  always  be  used  and  built  as  a 
part  of  the  structure  of  the  house  to  in- 
crease its  statical  strength.  To  this  end  I 


1 


M 


#'*' 


-r  i 


FIG.  49— SECTION  OF  STORIES. 

have  deemed  it  advisable  to  set  before  my 

readers  a  few  suggestions  regarding  these 

important  details  of  building  construction. 

As  I  have  stated  in  previous  articles,  the 


48 


HOW    TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


usual  method  of  erecting  partitions  is  to 
set  the  studs  12  or  19  inches  apart  from 
center  to  center,  setting  all  studs  plumb, 
then  to  cut  in  horizontal  bridging  as  illus- 
trated in  sketch,  Fig.  50;  this  bridging  is 
sometimes  slightly  pitched  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  lines,  so  that  it  may  tighten  in  case 


\ 


s 


\ 


\ 


FIG.  50. — PARTITION  BRACED  DIAGONALLY. 

there  should  be  any  settlement,  and  it  is  very 
little  better  than  the  horizontal  bridging. 
In  frame  houses  I  would  recommend  that 
cross  partitions  in  the  center  of  the  house 
be  "braced"  and  not  "bridged"  in  order 
to  stiffen  the  side  wall  and  prevent  the 
building  straining,  or  any  liability  of  its 
being  strained  by  any  outside  forces  such 


FIG.    51. — BRACING  A  LONG  PARTITION. 

as  wind  pressure,  etc.  This  "bracing" 
can  be  very  economically  done  by  the 
method  illustrated  in  Fig.  50 ;  as  will  be 
seen,  it  consists  of  simply  cutting  in  a  line 
of  bridging  from  corner  to  corner  diagon- 
ally, each  piece  being  driven  down  until  it 
tightens. 


Fig.  5  i  represents  a  method  which  the 
writer  has  successfully  followed  in  bracing 
a  very  long  partition,  and  it  will  be  noticed 
here  that  the  bridging  is  cut  in  between 
the  studs,  each  piece  being  nailed  in  hori- 
zontally. The  method  is,  however,  some- 
what faulty,  as  the  studs  are  liable  to  be 
bucked  or  sprung  when  nailing  in  the 
bridging,  for  this  reason  I  would  suggest 
that  the  curved  or  arched  bridging  shown 
in  the  engraving  Fig.  52  be  adopted  for 
long  partitions,  especially  if  it  supports 
floor  beams  in  the  center  of  a  span  or  be  a 
"fore  and  aft"  partition.  This  form  of 
introducing  the  arch  formed  of  small  pieces 
of  studding  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  not  usual 
and  has  been  followed  by  the  writer  in 
many  jobs,  with  the  result  that  each  parti- 


pIG   52. — ARCHED  OR  CURVED  BRIDGING. 

tion  was  not  alone  self-sustaining  on  each 
story,  but  was  also  rigid. 

When  partitions  are  built  of  studs  set 
on  their  flat,  they  should  have  more  bridg- 
ing than  those  set  the  4  inch  way. 

Partitions  should,  if  possible,  be  filled  in 
with  some  incombustible  material  to  render 
them  both  sound  and  fireproof. 

FRAMING  WOODEN  WALLS  FOR  WINDOW 
OPENINGS. — Herewith  I  illustrate  by  two 
sketches  the  methods  to  be  followed  in 
framing  wooden  walls  for  window  open- 
ings. Fig.  53  is  the  plan  and  on  it  will  be 
seen  the  different  details  of  construction  oi 
the  window  frame,  including  the  weight 
pocket,  which  should  ordinarily  be  2^ 
inches  from  the  back  of  the  pulley  stile  to 


HOW-TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


49 


the  face  of  the  stud  to  permit  the  weights 
to  pass  freely  up  and  down.  The  top 
header  is  usually  doubled  and  the  construc- 
tion is  the  same. as  shown  on  Fig.  54.  Fig. 


FIG.  53— 
SECTION  OF  SILL,  ETC. 


FIG   54— 
TOP  HEADERS. 


53  is  the  bottom  header  with  the  sill  stool 
and  apron,  and  the  construction  is  clearly 
shown  and  easily  understood  by  a  close 


FIG.  5  5 — WINDOW  FRAME. 

study  of  the  pieces,  and  Fig.  54  is  the  top 
header  referred  to  above.  About  I  inch 
is  allowed  to  permit  the  frame  to  slide  into 
its  place. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

How  TO  FRAME  CHEAP  TIMBER    BRIDGES 
FOR  ROADWAYS,  ETC. 

The  construction  of  good,  cheap  bridges 
for  spanning  small  rivers,  valleys,  ravines 
and  such,   on    country   roads,  necessitates 
some  care  and  originality  ;  and  I  have  found 
that   this  class   of  work,  though   not  very 
frequent,   still    occurs    in    many   localities, 
also  cheap  timber  roofs.      For  the  purpose 
therefore  of  explaining  the  best  and  cheap- 
est form  I  will  present  in  this  article  several 
methods  of  simple  trussing  which  carpen- 
ters will  find  useful.     For  very  short  bridge 
spans  of  from  4  to  6  feet,  the  best  form  is 
a  simple  series  of  3  or  4  heavy  yellow  pine 
or  spruce   timbers  spaced  so  as  to  come 
directly  under  the  wheels,  and  large  enough 
to  sustain  a  weight  of  from  two  to  five  tons 
in  the  centre  of  their  bearing.     The  width 
of  the   roadway  for  two   lines  of  vehicles, 
allowing   room   to    pass   easily,  should   be 
from    1 6  to    1 8  feet,  with  4  feet  for  side- 
walks, so   that  it  will   be   necessary  to  lay 
out    a    cross    section    of    the    prospective 
bridge,  place  the  stringers  or  longitudinal 
bearing  timbers  in   such  positions  as  they 
will  best  resist  the  movable  load.     Accord- 
ing to  the  best  engineering  authorities  the 
moving  load  provided  for  should  be,  for 
spans  under   100  feet,  70  to    100  pounds 
per  square  foot;  for  spans  from  100  to  200 
feet,  50  to  80  pounds  per  square  foot;  for 
spans  over  200  feet,  40  to  65  pounds  per 
square  foot. 

At  Fig.  56  readers  will  see  a  cross  section 
of  a  highway  bridge  spanning  a  creek  about 
ten  feet  wide.  There  are  four  principal 
stringers  under  the  roadway  which  are 
trussed  with  the  centre  post  and  i-inch 
wrought  iron  suspension  rod  in  the  man- 
ner shown  in  the  under  side  of  the  engrav- 
ing. This  suspension  rod  passes  through 
the  ends  of  the  stringer  and  is  tightened 


50  HOW    TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 

with    plates,  washers    and    nuts.     As   will      side  of  the  bridge.      At  Figs.  57  and  58,  I 
be  seen  there  is  four  feet  allowed  on  each     show  longitudinal  and   transverse  sections 


-*  M—  J+--+ 

n 


FIG.  56 — SECTION  OF  A  BRIDGE. 

side  for  sidewalks.     The   stringers  nieas-     of  a  small  bridge  for  spanning  any  width 
ure    8x12  inches,  the  roadway  3x8   inches      up  to  25  feet.      Readers  will  perceive  that 


FIG.  57. 

and  the  guide  pieces  5x8  inches  ;  the  guard     this  form  of  bridge  is  constructed  on  th< 
rails   for  the   bridge   can   be  made   up  of     Howe  truss,  and  very  strong  bridges  can 


FIG.   58. 

diagonal  or  some  other  simple  pattern,  but     be  built  by  increasing  the  depth  or  distance 
they  should  be  well  braced  from  the  under     between    the    upper  and  lower  chords.     It 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


will    t>2   understood   tint   the  sizes  of  the      up  by  this  method,  thus  leaving  the   entire 
timbers    must  be   increased  in   proportion      covered    space    underneath  free  from  col- 


FIG.  59 — SIMPLE  TRUSSED  BRIDGES. 

with  the  increase  of  each  foot  of  span  in      umns  or  supporting  posts.     For   roofs  of 
order  to  resist  the  strain  placed  thereon.  short  span,  shingled   or  slated,  the  trusses 


FIG  60. 


Fig.  59    shows  another  form  of  simple     seen    in   the    engravings    can    be    readily 
trussing  for  a  span  not  to  exceed  25  feet,      adopted. 


FIG.  6 1 — LATTICE  TKUSSINGS. 


Fig.  60  is  a  simple  form  for  a  span  not  to 
exceed  15  feet. 

Fig.  6 1  represents  a  very  simple  form  of 
diagonal  lattice  trussing,  by  means  of  which 
a  very  cheap  and  serviceable  bridge  may 
be  built  for  spans  of  20  feet,  but  the  writer 
would  not  recommend  bridges  to  be  built 
of  this  kind,  as  the  limits  of  nailing  and  the 
sizes  of  the  timber  prevent  the  adoption  of 
this  method.  For  flat  roofs  the  diagonal 
lattice  can  be  used  or  on  barns  or  long 
buildings  bridge  girders  can  be  built 


CHAPTER  XV. 
How  TO  FRAME  A  LOG  CABIN. 

Having  been  particularly  impressed  with 
the  picturesque  beauty  and  constructive 
stability  of  the  log  cabin  or  "slab  house," 
I  have  in  this  chapter  evolved  some  details 
concerning  them  which  will  be  found  of 
value  to  all  mechanics. 

At  Fig.  62,  I  place  before  the  reader  an 
isometiical  drawing  of  a  "  slab  "  or  half  log- 
house,  showing  two  sides  and  the  roof. 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


FIG.   62 — A  SLAB  LOG  CABIN  WITH   SLABS  HALVED  TOGETHER, 


HOW   TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


53 


The  slabs  consist  of  one-half  logs  or  out- 
side slabs  of  trees  with  the  bark  left  on. 
Each  slab  has  a  straight  face  and  parallel 
straightened  edges,  and  at  the  corners  they 
are  halved  together,  as  seen  at  Fig.  63.  The 
round  side  is  mitered  so  as  to  form  a  close 
joint,  and  continue,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
round  outline  of  the  timber.  Short  blocks 
may  be  fitted  to  the  outside  ends  to  make 
it  appear  as  if  the  whole  round  tree  was  in 
the  house.  This  construction  makes  a 
very  excellent  house  without  resorting  to 
the  expedient  of  patching,  and  makes  an 
artistic  dwelling  by  hollowing  out  the  ends, 
which  will  require  to  be  extremely  well 
done  or  the  joints  will  show  and  spoil  the 
appearance  of  the  house. 

A  log  house  framed  by  this  method, 
which  only  entails  the  splitting  of  the  tree 
in  two  halves  with  the  saw,  makes  a  very 
healthy  house,  as  it  gives  a  comparatively 
smooth  surface  inside  and  makes  close 
joints,  thus  making  the  interior  very  com- 
fortable, and  it  can  be  made  more  so  by 
furring  the  half  logs  vertically  and  ceiling 
inside  with  5A  or  %$  inch  match  boards 


og  house  to  the  halved  and  mitred  joint  I 
illustrate  in  Fig.  64.     Here  are  shown  two 


FIG.  63  — SLABS  HALVED  TOGETHER. 

laying  them  horizontally  from  the  floor  up. 
If,  however,  the  builder  should  be  out  in 
the  woods,  far  away  from  the  valuable  aid 
of  the  steam  saw  mill,  he  can  frame  his 


FIG.  64  — METHOD    OF   FRAMING    WHOLE 
LOGS  TOGETHER  BY  HALVING. 

trees  of  about  equal  average  diameter,  sized 
down  to  parallel  straight  edges  and  halved 
and  mitred  to  a  close  joint.  These  mitres 
and  halves  may  be  sawn  or  chiselled  out 
and  will  make  a  very  strong  solid  wall 
without  much  labor,  if  straight  young  trees 
,can  be  procured  for  the  job.  The  principal 
labor  consists  in  getting  the  straight  joints. 
These  walls  can  be  put  together  without 
nails.  ,  .  . 

At  the  rear  of  Fig.  62,  will  be  seen  the 
simplest  way  oi  building  a  house  of  this 
description,  which  consists  of  simply  cut- 
ting, fitting  and  abutting  the  ends  of  the 
slabs  forming  one  end,  against  the  straight 
inside  faces  of  the  side.  This  construction 
will  be  very  well  where  the  end  is  not  seen 
as  in  the  engraving,  but  where  it  is  the  ap- 
pearance is  not  good,  though  much  time  is 
saved.  A  handy  and  intelligent  mechanic, 
of  resource,  and  a  good  fitter,  can  make  a 
very  handsome  house,  by  using  any  of  the 
foregoing  forms  of  construction.  If  it  be 
possible  each  tier  of  slab  or  logs  might  be 
the  same  width  all  round  the  building,  so 
as  to  avoid  patching.  If  any  piecing  is  to 


54 


HOW    TO    FRAME   A    HOUSE. 


be  done,  it  .should  be  at  the  top,  or  some 
place  where  it  will  not  be  visible. 

Regarding  the  roof,  I  would  state  that 
it  is  best  composed  of  half  logs  or  slabs 
with  grooved  strips  nailed  under  the  joints, 
as  represented  in  sketch  Fig.  65,  thus  making 
the  roof  practically  water  t'ght.  The  roof 


FIG.  65 — ROOF  SLABS  WITH  GROOVED 
STRIPS  UNDER  JOINTS. 

should  have  long,  overhanging  eaves  or 
cornices,  and  a  comb  well  overhung  at  the 
ridge  line.  The  roof  will,  of  course,  re- 
q  lire  more  careful  workmanship  and  fitting 
than  the  side  walls  In  conclusion,  it  may 
be  said  that  almost  any  skilled  carpenter 
may  thus  build  himself  an  excellent  shop, 


SLAB  PANELING. 

shed  or  dwelling  in  any  locality  where  the 
timber  is  available,  at  the  expense   of  only 


the  labor  involved  in  handling  and  raising 
the  different  pieces. 

One  of  the  important  things  I  would 
urge  on  all  mechanics  is  to  study  out  their 
work  and  arrange  a  mental  plan  of  pro- 
cedure before  laying  out  work  or  com- 
mencing to  use  the  tools.  Deliberation 
and  method  will  always  mean  a  successful 
mechanical  conclusion. 

To  illustrate  this,  I  would  state  that  in 
framing  small  houses,  costing  from  $i,OOO 
and  up,  I  find  that  most  foremen  in  their 
balloon  framing  take  the  measurements 
off  the  plans  and  push  up  the  beams  and 
striding  without  making  any  provision  for 
the  windows  and  doors ;  especially  is  this 
the  case  where  bay  windows  occur.  The 
result  is  there  is  a  lot  of  cutting  out,  and 
nailing  in,  of  studding  when  the  frame  is 
raised  and  ready  for  the  sheathing.  Per- 
sonally, I  believe  in  the  foreman  going 
ahead  and  laying  out  the  entire  stuff  for 
the  beams,  sills,  walls,  partitions,  plates, 
etc.,  before  the  men  arrive  on  the  ground 
and  commence  work.  If  he  be  a  careful 
and  capable  mechanic,  with  an  accurate 
head-piece — a  knowledge  of  plans  and  fa- 
miliar with  the  use  of  the  steel  square,  he 
should  be  able  to  cut  out  his  stuff  on  the 
ground  so  that  it  can  be  nailed  in  position 
exactly  where  required,  thus  saving  time, 
money,  and  much  vexation  going  over 
work  twice. 

All  pieces  of  framing  should  be  marked 
with  their  name  and  position  when  framed, 
so  that  they  be  readily  picked  out  when 
required,  as  sill,  west-side,  wall-plate,  north 
bay,  collar-beams,  etc,  giving  each  piece 
its  proper  name  and  position.  By  doing 
this,  the  carpenters  on  a  job  will  be  able, 
in  the  absence  of  the  foreman,  to  pick  out 
the  stuff  and  nail  it  in  position. 

Some  of  the  best  mechanics,  I  find,  take 
the  plans  home  and  make  a  framing  out- 
line plan  of  each  floor,  wall,  partition,  roof 


HOW   TO    FRAME    A    HOUSE. 


55 


etc.,  and  mark  on  each  line  the  exact  length 
to  lay  out  and  frame  each  piece,  thus 
making  sure  their  measurements  will  be 
correct.  This  can  be  done  to  i  ^  or  3-4 
scale  with  an  ordinary  two-foot  carpenter's 
rule,  and  is  a  positive  way  of  obtaining  ac- 
curate measurements  when  laying  out. 

Above  all,  let  me  warn  carpenters  who 
lead  or  are  in  charge,  to  avoid  too  much 
rushing,  as  it  must  of  necessity  mean  mis- 
takes or  the  loss  of  a  job. 


One    of  the    most   prevalent   omissions 
which  is  to  be  found  in  new  work  is  that 


of  omitting  to  set  the  water  table  before 
commencing  to  clapboard  and  simply  put- 
ting on  the  bottom  course  and  continuing 
up.  This  is  a  very  deleterious  practice 
and  should  never  be  permitted  by  go<  d 
mechanics.  In  every  case  the  water  table 
should  be  set  and  levelled  all  round  the 
house  the  very  first  thing,  and,  if  possible, 
well  painted,  then  the  corner  boards  nailed 
together  and  set  up  and  finally  the  clap- 
boards put  on,  with  the  bottom  course  well 
beveled  and  fitted  close  to  the  pitch  of  the 
water  table,  so  as  to  form  a  water-tight 
joint. 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR 
A  BRICK  HOUSE.  , 


CHAPTER   I.  By  referring  to  Fig.  I  of  the  illustrations,  • 

[N  WRITING  this  part  I  have  endeavored  readers   will   be    enabled  to  obtain  a  very 

to    follow,  as  closely  as    possible,  the  clear  example  of  the  floors  of  a  city  house 

methods  of  construction   laid  down  by  the  or  flat  in  course   of  construction      There 

building  laws  of  the  City  of  New  York,  as  are  four  stories,  supposed  to  be  partially 


FIG.    i — PROJECTED  VJEW  OF  FRAMING  OF  A  BKICK  HOUSE. 

they  embody  the  best  forms  of  construe-  erecte  ',  namely — basement,  first  story,  sec- 
tion existant,  and  are  both  semi-fireproof  ond  story  and  third  story.  The  brick  party 
and  economical.  wall,  on  the  left,  is  carried  up  to  above  the 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


57 


third  floor  beams,  and  south  front  is  built 
to  the  level  of  the  second  floor  beams.  The 
first  floor  is  fireproof;  that  'is  to  say,  it  is 
constructed  of  steel  beams,  filled  in  with 
brick  arches.  The  thrust  of  the  arch  be- 
tween the  beams  being  resisted  by  the 
wrought  iron  tie  rods  seen  in  the  engrav- 
ing, which  is  an  isometric  section  of  a 
corner  house,  placed  on  the  northeast  cor- 
ner, showing. the  south  gable  front.  Fig. 
2  is  the  projection  of  the  framing  of  the 


Fig.  2— Method  of  I  Beam  Construction,  with 
Tie  Rods,  Knees,  and  Two  Different  Styles  of 
Anchors. 

first  story  fire-proof  floor,  showing  how  the 
I  beams  are  bolted  together  by  knees.     It 


Fig.  3— A  Fire-Proof  Floor,  with  brick  Arches, 
Leveled  up  with  Concrete ,  and  Wood  Strips, 
Imbedded  for  Flooring. 

also  shows  the  tie  rods,  anchors  and  temp_ 
lets  under  the  beams   on  the  brick  founda. 


Fig.  4 — Hollow  Terra  Cotta  Arch  Fire-Proof 
Floor,  with  Concrete  and  Wood  Strips  Imbedded 
to  Receive  Flooring  Nails. 

tion  wall.  Figs.  3  and  4  show  two  details 
of  construction  for  filling  in  between  the 
beams. 

At  Fig.  5,  a  very  inexpensive  system  of 
setting    centres  for  turning    the    brick    or 


terra  cotta  arches  between  I  beams  will  be 
seen.  It  consists  of  2  inch  x  4  inch  or  2 
inch  x  6  inch  spruce  joists  laid  lengthways 
on  top  and  bottom  flanges  of  each  I  beam  ; 
the  bottom  joist  being  hung  to  that  on 
top  by  means  of  I  inch  x  3  inch  or  I  ^ 
inch  x  4  inch  spruce  cleats  or  strips.  The 
curved  bearers  are  set  on  the  bottom  strips 
and  nailed  thereon  and  the  battens  are  laid 
on  loose  edge  to  edge,  thus  making  the 
centres  easily  removed  frcm  the  arch,  to 


FIG.     5 — METHOD   OF   SETTING    CENTRES 
FOR  FIREPROOF  FLOORS. 

the  next  opening,  when  the  cement  has  set 
sufficiently  hard  to  allow  it,  by  simply 
wedging  off  the  strips  from  the  upper  joist. 
The  writer  has  seen  many  arches  turned 
on  this  simple  and  cheap  form  of  centre 
and  it  works  admirably,  carrying  both  men 
and  material  safely.  The  cleats  should  be 
nailed  opposite  each  other  on  different 
sides  of  each  beam,  and  be  spaced  about 
six  feet  apart.  Wire  nails  are  the  most  re- 
liable for  this  job. 

At  Fig.  i  it  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  a 
temporary  line  of  stud  partition  placed  back 
of  the  front  wall  at  each  story.  These  are 
inserted  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the 
several  tiers  of  beams  on  each  floor,  till  the 
front  is  built  up  to  them  ;  as  the  practice 
usually  is  to  build  the  side,  rear  and  party 
walls  first,  and  then  build  the  fronts  up  to 
them.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  the  front 
stone-setters  or  front  bricklayers,  work 
much  slower  than  the  rough  wall  men, 
and,  in  consequence,  the  temporary  parti- 
tions are  placed  by  the  framer,  or  carpen- 


FIG.  6 — HEADERS  AND  TRIMMERS  DOUBLED,  ALSO  FRAMING  OF  FLOOR  BEAMS. 


FIG.  7 — PROJECTED  SECTION  OF  FOKE  AND  AFT  STUD  PARTITION  AT  F LOOKS. 


HOW  TO  KRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


59 


ter,  so  that  no  time  may  be  lost,  or  men 
delayed.  There  is  no  waste  timber  in  using 
this  expedient,  as  the  studding  and  plates, 
shown  on  the  illustration,  are  used  in  the 
inside  partitions  when  the  roof  is  on  and 
they  are  being  set ;  but  great  care  must  be 
used  in  setting  the  beams  level.  For  this 
end  the  measurements  must  be  carefully 
made  and  the  studding  cut  the  exact  length. 
The  New  York  building  law,  however,  calls 
for  not  more  than  two  stories  of  any  wall  to 
be  built  in  advance  of  any  other  wall,  so 
that  not  more  than  two  rows  of  temporary 
partition  should  be  needed.  These  rows  of 
studding  should  be  kept  back  at  least  3 
feet  from  the  face  of  the  wall. 

When  the  beams  are  being  framed  their 
ends  must  be  beveled.  They  are  usually 
3  inches  thick,  and  must  be  beveled  to  not 
less  than  3  inches,  or  the  square  of  their 
thickness.  This  is  also  shown  in  Fig.  I, 
together  with  the  method  of  anchoring  the 
beams  to  the  brick  walls.  It  will  be 
noticed  here  that  in  the  party  wall  strap 
anchors  are  used,  and  in  the  gable  T  an- 
chors. If  there  be  two  gables,  side  walls, 
or  the  beams  on  opposite  sides  of  the  party 
wall  be  on  different  levels,  then  T  anchors 
must  be  inserted,  and  all  anchors  should 
have  the  T  at  least  8  inches,  or  the  thick- 
ness of  two  courses  of  brick  in  the  wall. 
All  wooden  trimmers  and  headers  should 
not  be  less  than  one  inch  thicker  than  the 
floor  or  roof  beams  of  the  same  tier,  when 
the  header  is  4  feet  or  less  in  length  ;  and 
when  the  header  is  more  than  4  feet  and 
not  over  I  5  feet  in  length  or  span  the  trim- 
mer and  header  beams  shall  be  at  least 
double  the  thickness  of  the  floor  or  roof 
beams,  or  be  made  up  of  two  beams  spiked 
together.  All  this  I  here  illustrate  at  Fig. 
6,  which  is  so  clear  as  to  fully  explain  the 
construction  without  further  explanation. 
I  would  state  here  that  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  bevel  the  roof  beams,  as  the  de- 


crease of  4  inches,  from  a  1 2-inch  to  an 
8  inch  wall,  leaves  it  unnecessary.  All 
wooden  beams  must  be  trimmed  away 
from  all  flues,  not  less  than  8  inches  from 
the  flue.  Fireplaces  must  have  trimmed 
arches  to  support  the  hearths,  24  inches 
wide,  measured  from  the  face  of  the  chim- 
ney breast.  The  several  tiers  of  beams 
must,  of  course,  be  anchored,  as  before  de- 
scribed, and  the  anchors  should  not  be  less 
than  6  feet  apart,  or  nailed  on  every  fourth 
or  fifth  beam,  as  represented,  in  Fig.  I. 
Anchors  should  be  of  wrought  iron,  ^  of 
an  inch  thick  and  I  ^  inches  wide,  nailed 
with  y±  in^h  nails.  Beams  resting  on 
girders  may  either  be  overlapped,  the  width 
of  the  girder,  or  abutted,  end  to  end,  and 
tied  together  with  a  double  strap. 

Concerning  the  method  of  anchoring. the 
front  wall.      I  show   it   in  the  engravings 


FIG.    8 — SECTION    OF    FRONT    OF    STORE, 
SHOWING  ANCHORS,  STRIPS,  BEAMS,  ETC. 

Figs.  8  and  9.  The  plan  of  the  roof,  Fig. 
9,  shows  that  every  tier  of  beams  front  and 
rear  must  have,  opposite  each  pier,  hard 


6o 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK   HOUSE. 


FIG.  9 — PLAN  OF  FLOORS  SHOWING  METHOD  OF  ANCHORING  FRONT  AND  REAR 

WALLS  TO  BEAMS 


wood  or  hard  pine  anchor  strips  (seen  in 
Fig.  9)  dovetailed  into  the  beams  diagon- 
ally, which  must  be  inserted  in  at  least 
four  beams  and  nailed  to  each,  but  they 
must  not  be  let  in,  within  four  feet  of  the 
centre  line  of  the  span  of  the  beams  be- 
tween the  walls.  The  wrought-iron  an- 
chors are  then  placed  as  I  have  drawn 
them  in  the  illustration.  The  section  of 
the  front.  Fig.  8,  will  show  better  how  the 
anchors  hold. 

In  regard  to  stud  partitions,  I  would  say 
that,  when  they  run  across  the  house  they 
are  built  in  the  usual  way  with  a  top  and 
bottom  plate.  When  longitudinally,  or 
fore  and  aft  partitions,  as  they  are  usually 
termed,  or  run  directly  over  each  other, 
they  have  the  top  plate  only  and  the  bot- 
tom ends  of  the  studding  passing  through, 
or  between  the  floor  beams  and  resting  on 
the  top  plate  of  the  story  below,  in  the 
manner  represented  in  the  engraving,  Fig. 
7,  which  is  a  projected  section  of  an  upper 
story  floor,  showing  the  floor  beams  and 
plates  and  studding  of  afore  and  aft  parti- 
tion. When  the  spacing  of  the  studding 
compels  that  one  or  more  studs  should 
rest  on  a  beam  or  trimmer  as  the  engrav- 


ing shows,  then,  of  course,  it  is  not  possi- 
ble to  pass  them  through,  but  they  should 
invariably  rest  on  the  plate  below  and  the 
space  between  filled  in  with  old  or  broken 
brick  so  as  to  make  the  partition  semi- 
fireproof.  As  I  have  previously  desciibed 
the  methods  of  centering  for  the  arches  be- 
tween the  first  story  steel  beams  and  other 
details,  I  will  close  this  chapter  by  advis- 
ing all  readers  to  study  the  actual  con- 
struction when  in  progress,  as  it  is  in 
this  way  only  mechanical  information  is 
acquired. 


CHAPTER   II. 

SECOND  AND  UPPER  STORY  BEAMS,  PARTI- 
TIONS AND  BRIDGING. 

Continuing  the  consideration  of  the  meth- 
ods to  be  followed  in  framing  the  timbers 
for  a  brick  house,  I  show  readers  at  Fig. 
10  the  second  floor  plan  of  the  floor  tim- 
bers for  a  house  with  a  splayed  or  sloping 
plan  on  the  front  of  the  house,  thus  neces- 
sitating shortening  each  floor  beam  as  they 
are  spaced  out  to  the  acute  angle.  This 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE 


61 


peculiar  plan  is  caused  by  an  avenue  not  they  ought  to  hold  and  help  to  tie  the 
running  square  or  at  right  angles  to  the  sidewalls  together.  To  the  left  of  this  en- 
street,  graving  a  trimmer  arch  will  be  seen  to  be 


FIG.  10 — FRAMING  PLAN  OF  A  BRICK  CITY  HOUSE. 


In  this  case  the  front  anchor  strips  let 
into  the  beams  would  not  be  necessary  and 
could  be  omitted,  provided  the  end  T-an- 
chors  were  placed  on  every  beam  and  well 
nailed  thereto,  thus  tying  the  walls  to- 
gether. 

In  this  engraving  I  also  give  a  very  clear 
conception  of  the  proper  way  to  proceed 
in  framing  round  openings,  by  doubling 
up  the  trimmers  and  headers  and  hanging 
the  headers  in  stirrup  or  bridle  irons  and 
framing  of  the  tail  beams.  All  trimmer 
beams  should  be  thoroughly  anchored,  and 
the  tail  beams  should  also  have  some  an- 
chors. Some  framers  claim  they  are  use- 
less on  tail  beams,  but  I  maintain  that  if 
tail  beams  are  well  nailed  to  the  headers 


FIG.     1 1 — SECTION   THROUGH 
HEARTH. 


FLOOR    AT 


62 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK   HOUSE. 


turned  with  one  skewback  abutting  against 
a  beveled  strip  nailed  to  the  face  of  the 
header  in  the  manner  represented  at  Fig. 
II,  which  is  a  section  taken  through  the 


arch  in  the  usual  way,  but  is  not  usually 
removed  or  broken  out,  as  the  material  thus 
saved  is  not  worth  the  expense  of  remov- 
ing it.  The  object  of  the  trimmer  arcli  is 


floor    at    the    hearth,    showing    the    floor      to  make  the  hearth  incombusti'  le,  and  con- 


FIG.    12 — METHOD  OF  BRACING  BKICK  WALLS. 


beams,  trimmer  arch,  bridging,  lathing  and 
flooring,  also  the  flue,  and  flue  linings, 
which  are  now  inserted  in  almost  all  smoke 
flues.  A  centre  is  set  for  each  trimmer 


sequently  the  beams  are  not  liable  to  catch 
fire,  being  so  far  removed  from  the  smoke 
flues. 

Bridging  should  be  set  about  every  six 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


feet  between  bearings,  and  if  possible,  for 
greater  stability,  should  start  from  the  end 
of  a  header  or  against  a  wall.  This  is  also 
shown  in  Fig.  10, 

Concerning  the  bracing  of  the  walls  dur- 
ing construction,  I  would  state  that  the 
usual  method  is  to  build  in  a  piece  of  2x4 
joist  or  studding  into  the  inside  face  of  the 
wall,  about  two  feet  below  the  bottom  edge 
of  the  tier  of  beams  above,  and  then  nail  a 
2x4  stud  from  this  built  in  piece,  to  the 


ful  so  as  not  to  jar  the  wall  and  to  break 
the  bond,  or  strain  it  in  any  way. 

Another  important  matter  I  wish  noted 
is  to  make  up  under  the  ends  of  all  floor 
and  roof  timbers  solid  so  as  to  avoid  a 
spring  in  the  floois,  also  to  do  all  nailing 
thoroughly  either  in  partitions  or  other 
timber  structures. 

Fig.  13  shows  the  best  method  of  truss- 
ing or  stiffening  a  partition  so  as  to  resist 
weight  above  or  prevent  buckling.  If  the 


FIG.    13 — A  TRUSSED  PARTITION. 


beam  on  the  floor  below.  I  am  opposed  to 
this  plan,  however,  and  would  recommend 
that  the  walls  be  braced  from  story  to 
story  in  the  way  I  illustrate  in  Fig.  12  at 
back  of  engraving.  I  know  it  is  scarcely 
safe  for  a  framer  to  walk  on,  or  set  beams 
on  a  green  wall,  or  one  with  the  brick 
freshly  laid,  and  some  bracing  is  necessary, 
but  strips  of  wood  built  in  a  wall  rot  out. 
However,  framers  and  carpenters  when 
setting  beams  on  walls  should  be  very  care- 


partition  be  very  high,  two  or  three  rows 
should  be  cut  in  so  as  to  increase  its  rigid- 
ity and  also  act  as  a  fire  stop.  If  the  par- 
titions are  to  be  filled  in  with  brick  they 
should  have  the  bridging  or  trussing  pieces 
set  level,  and  the  bricks  laid  on  these 
pieces. 

I  would  now  ask  the  reader  to  refer  to 
Fig.  14,  which  is  a  projected  view  of  bridg- 
ing seen  from  the  floor  below.  In  the  floor 
plans  shown  in  the  foregoing  engravings, 


64 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK   HOUSE. 


the  bridging  is  denoted  by  three  parallel 
lines.  Here  it  is  represented  placed  and 
nailed  to  the  floor  beams. 

Much     difference     of     opinion     exists 


i 


satisfactory,  as  the  pieces   are   often  sawn 
too  short  or  too  long,  and  not  to  the  exact 


FIG.    14 — BRIDGING  OF  FLOORS  AND 
ROOFS. 

amongst  mechanics  as  to  the  proper  way 
to  lay  out  each  piece  of  bridging  so  as  to 
get  it  the  proper  length  and  bevels  on  the 
edges.  Some  prefer  to  have  one  man  hold 
the  long  piece  up  while  another  saws  each 
piece  to  the  bevel  required.  This,  I  think, 
is  a  tedious  and  inaccurate  method  and  not 


i><j^^p<p<iix]gqxn^rxix!pa?gi 


35<iM^^ll^l^l>^) 


JO 


FIG, 


15 — A    CROSS    SECTION    OF    HOUSE 
SHOWING  BRIDGING. 


FIG.    16. 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


bevel.  I  would  recommend  to  all  carpen- 
ters to  try  the  German  way,  that  is,  to  strike 
two  parallel  lines  with  the  chalk  line  aero  s 
the  top  edges  of  the  floor  beams  at  a  dis- 
tance apart  equal  to  the  depth  of  the  beams  ; 
if  they  be  8"  beams,  eight  inches  apart;  if 
12"  beams,  twelve  inches  apart,  and  so  on. 
Now,  if  the  bridging  be  laid  across  from 
beam  to  beam  diagonally  the  exact  length 
and  bevels  will  be  given  and  the  pieces 
must  fit,  even  if  the  beams  be  not  equally 
spaced  out,  and  it  fiequently  happens  they 
are  not.  This  method  I  illustrate  at  Fig. 
9,  by  the  dotted  lines  and  the  cross  section 
Fig.  15,  where  the  bridging  is  shown 
placed  on  each  tier. 

At  Fig.  1 6  I  show  the  proper  method  to 
follow  in  framing  trimmer  and  tail  beams 
connected  with  an  angular  header.  In  this 
case  the  header  is  on  an  angle  of  45  de- 
grees It  will  be  noticed  the  header  and 
trimmer  are  doubled  and  the  header  mor- 
tised into  the  trimmer  on  one  end,  the 
Other  end  resting  on  a  brick  wall.  Great 
care  is  necessary  in  framing  headers  of  this 
kind  and  they  should  never  be  set  in  biidle 
or  stirrup  iron  with  a  butt  joint,  as  they  are 
liable  to  slip  and  the  floor  to  sag  as  a 
natural  consequence.  They  should  also  be 


and  gain  being  above  the  centre  breaking 
line  or  neutral  axis  of  the  beam,  thus  form- 
ing a  strong  joint  without  weakening  the 
header. 


FIG.    17. 

framed  as  represented  in  Fig  17,  a  method 
which  I  believe  to  be  the  safest  and  most 
economical  existant.  The  ends  are  simply 
mortised  and  gained  together,  the  mortise 


CHAPTER  III. 

FlREPROOFING    WOOD    FLOORS,    PARTITIONS 
AND    DOORS. 

In  connection  with  floors  I  would  here 
draw  attention  to  the  method  of  semi-fire- 
proofing,  or  deafening  floors,  shown  at 
Fig.  1 8.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  wood 
cleats  or  strips  nailed  about  four  inches 
down  on  each  side  of  the  floor  beams.  On 
these  strips  fa"  or  i"  boards  are  placed 
and  nailed,  so  as  to  form  a  shelf  or  pocket 
between  the  floor  and  ceiling  below.  These 
pockets  are  afterwards  filled  in  with  a  con- 
crete made  of  ashes  and  cement,  thus  ren- 
dering the  floor  both  fire  and  sound- 
proof. The  writer  believes,  however,  that 
the  water  in  the  concrete  is  absorbed  by 
the  pores  of  the  wood,  and  after  a  time  a 
dry  rot  ensues  which  is  sure  to  injure  the 
wood,  so  as  to  impair  its  strength  and 
render  it  unsafe.  Care,  then,  should  be 
taken  not  to  put  in  the  concrete  slimy  or 
very  wet. 

Fig.  19  illustrates  the  simplest  modern 
method  in  use  for  preventing  fire  from  trav- 
eling up  from  one  line  of  lath  and  plaster 
partition  to  that  directly  over  it,  above  the 
tier  of  beams.  The  scheme  is  to  fill  in  the 
spaces  between  the  beams  with  brick  and 
mortar,  in  the  way  represented  in  the  en- 
graving, the  brick  being  laid  on  the  top 
plate  of  the  partition  below.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a  partition  entirely  fire- 
proof, horizontal  pieces  of  bridging  are  in- 
serted, about  two  or  three  rows  in  the  en- 
tire height,  and  on  these  pieces  the  bricks 
are  laid,  breaking  joint  in  the  bond,  so  as 
to  stiffen  the  whole  partition.  When  the 


66 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


FIG.  1 8 — METHOD  OF  DEAFENING  FLOOR. 


partition  is  constructed  of  studding  set  on 
flat  or  only  2^  inches  thick,  the  bricks 
are  laid  on  the  top  of  each  other,  edge  to 
edge.  The  horizontal  bridging  pieces 
should  not  be  more  than  3  feet  apart  in 
the  height :  that  is,  in  a  1 2  foot  partition 
there  should  be  three  or  four  spaces,  in  a 
9-foot  partition  two  pieces  or  three  spaces, 
and  all  the  spaces  should  be  a  tight  fit  and 
well  toe-nailed  into  the  studding.  If  there 
be  partitions  in  the  cellar,  and  the  bottom 
does  not  rest  on  a  brick  wall,  or  be  carried 
on  stone  footings,  then  a  sleeper  or  plate 
of  locust,  or  other  hard  wood,  should  be  set 
into  the  cellar  floor,  as  locust  will  not  rot. 
A  better  plan,  however,  is  to  first  concrete 
the  cellar,  and  then  set  the  bottom  plate  of 
the  partition  directly  on  the  concrete  and 
cut  the  studs  in  tight.  The  exact  length 


of  any  stud  may  be  found  by  setting  the 
top  plate  on  top  of  the  bottom  plate,  and 
then  measuring  up  to  the  ceiling  with  two 
rods,  sliding  them  apart  till  they  touch 
the  ceiling  and  plates.  An  ^"  or  ^" 
should  be  allowed  for  tightening.  Spruce 
studding  is  best  for  cellar  or  basement  par- 
titions, as  hemlock  is  too  subject  to  absorb 
the  existing  dampness  in  the  cellar  and 
generate  early  rottenness  and  vermin.  The 
same  rule  applies  to  flooring,  yellow  or 
North  Carolina  pine  being  the  best  for  use 
in  cellars. 

Concerning  the  usual  cheap  method  of 
laying  the  bearers  and  flooring  on  top  of 
the  iron  I  beams,  forming  the  first  story 
fireproof  floor,  I  would  here  state  that  the 
common  practice  is  to  first  cover  the  brick 
arches  between  the  beams  with  a  comn  on 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


67 


concrete  up  level  with  the  top  flanges  of 
the  I  beams,  and  then  to  lay  2"x4"  spruce 
or  hemlock  diagonally  across  them,  either 
on  flat  or  edge,  tying  the  ends  together 
with  cleats  or  over  lengths  of  joists,  and 
making  sure  that  all  the  ends  are  made  up 
solid  so  as  to  prevent  their  springing. 
These  joists  are  usually  spaced  16"  apart 
and  on  them  the  flooring  is  nailed  in  the 
usual  way. 

Fig.  20  represents  the  simplest  method 
of  constructing  a  cheap  fireproof  door.  It 
is  made  of  fa"  tongued  and  grooved  boards 


\ 


FIG.  19 — COMMON  METHOD   OF  FIREPROOF 
PARTITIONS. 

in  two  thicknesses,  one  thickness  running 
diagonally.  The  whole  completed  door  is 
covered  with  tin,  or  sheet  iron  on  both 
sides  and  edges,  so  as  to  render  it  incom- 
bustible. 

Furring  is  a  term  applied  to  wood  strips, 
nailed  or  spiked  to  outside  brick  walls,  for 
the  purpose  of  nailing  the  plasterer's  lath 
and  thus  preventing  the  plaster  from  ab- 
sorbing the  inherent  dampness  of  the  wall. 
These  strips  are  generally  1x2"  or  1*^5 
x2^",  and  are  nailed  on  vertically  and 
spaced  out  12"  or  16"  as  desired.  The 
nails  are  driven  into  the  joints  of  the  brick- 
work so  as  to  hold  the  furring  tightly 


against  the  face  of  the  wall,  by  this  means 
leaving  an  air  space  between  the  wall  and 
the  plaster.  Carpenters  should  be  sure  in 
nailing  on  furring  that  the  nails  draw  the 
furring  tight  to  the  brick  work  and  that 
they  hold  it  firmly.  The  bottom  edges  of 
the  floor  beams  are  also  often  furred,  and 
it  is  a  very  judicious  practice,  as  it  allows 
the  air  to  circulate  round  the  beams  and 
prevents  them  generating  a  dry  rot.  The 
frequent  discoloration  of  paper  on  walls  is 
caused  by  the  plaster  being  laid  on  the  brick 
wall  and  the  heat  of  the  room  drawing  the 
damp  through  stains  the  paper. 

Furring,  therefore,  should  be  nailed  on 
all  outside  brick  walls  of  12"  thick  or  less, 
so  as  to  prevent  dampness  coming  into  the 
rooms  and  making  them  unhealthy.  If 


FIG. 


20 — How   TO    MAKE  A  FIRE-PROOF 
DOOR  OF  WOOD. 


hollow  bricks  be  used  on  outside  walls  it 
will  not  be  necessary  to  put  on  furring,  as 
the  plaster  is  spread  directly  on  the  hollow 
brick,  and  this  kind  of  brick  makes  a  very 
dry  inside  surface. 


68 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ROOFS,   BULKHEADS   AND   FRONTS. 

Concerning  the  construction  of  the  roof, 
I  might  state  that  the  roof  timbers  are 
usually  placed  as  the  floor  timbers  below, 
across  the  house  from  gable  to  gable,  with 
the  exception  that  they  pitch  so  as  to  form 
a  gutter  or  gutters  in  the  centre  or  rear  of 
the  building  in  order  to  carry  off  the  water, 
snow,  etc.,  to  proper  leaders.  This,  of 


permit  the  ceiling  to  be  furred  down  level. 
The  way  builders  generally  do  this  is,  to 
hang  2x2",  or  2x4"  joists  from  the  rafters 
with  1x2  furring  strips  or  scrap  scantling, 
spaced  16  inches  on  centres  to  accommo- 
date the  plasterer's  lath.  Of  course,  all  open- 
ings for  "  Scuttles,"  which  are  square  open- 
ings framed  for  in  the  roof,  must  be  allowed 
for,  and  constructed  according  to  the 
methods  I  have  described  for  floor  open- 
ings in  the  preceding  sections  of  this  arti- 


To 


FIG.  21 — SECTION  OF  BULKHEAD. 


course,  must  be  done  by  pitching  the  beams 
as  they  are  spaced  out,  and  the  best  method 
is  to  set  one  fr  nt  and  one  on  rear,  and 
stretch  a  line  through  so  as  to  get  a  straight 
roof  surface.  Flat  roofs  of  the  kind  used 
in  cities  and  covered  with  tin  will  drain  dry, 
with  a  pitch  of  i  or  I  y2  inches  to  the  foot. 
The  roof  beams  are  generally  bridged  and 
kept  up  sufficiently  high  to  give  a  level 
ceiling  on  the  top  story  under  them.  For 
example,  if  the  top  story  is  10  feet  in  the 
clear  of  the  ceiling,  then  the  roof  beams 
are  kept  i'-6",  or  2'-o"  high,  so  as  to 


cle,  and  the  headers,  etc.,  properly  hung  in 
bridle  irons 

Similarly,  if  there  be,  and  there  usually 
are,  any  fore  and  aft  partitions  on  the  top 
story,  the  top  or  upper-plate  of  these  par- 
titions must  be  against  the  under  edges 
of  the  rafters  to  support  them  in  the  middle 
of  the  span  and  prevent  their  sagging-  o 
deflecting. 

Regarding  next  the  construction  of  bulk- 
heads. I  would  say  that  these  are  a  sort 
of  box  or  small,  framed  structure  placed  on 
the  roof  over  the  stairs  which  lead  from 


I 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


69 


the  top  story  to  the  roof.  I  show  a  sec- 
tion of  a  bulkhead  at  Fig.  21.  It  is  formed 
by  framing  an  opening  in  the  roof  equal  to 
the  area  required  for  the  stairs  and  required 


FIG.  22 — WINDOW  LINTELS. 

head-room,  the  framing  being  done  as  in 
the  case  of  floors,  namely,  the  trimmers 
and  headers  being  doub'ed  and  the  headers 
hung  in  bridle  irons,  on  these  around  the 
opening  or  well  hole  studding  are  framed 


and  raised  with  the  necessary  wall-plates 
for  tlu>  roof  of  the  bulkhead.  The  roof  has 
generally  plenty  of  pitch  and  is  framed  for 
a  skylight  to  light  the  entire  stairs  from 
the  roof.  There  is  also  a  door  opening 
allowed  on  one  side,  generally  the  south- 
west side,  to  permit  egress  to  the  roof. 
This  method  is  much  better  in  city  houses 
than  the  usual  scuttle  and  iron  ladder,  be- 
cause it  gives  easy  access  to  the  roof  and 
permits  of  its  use  for  drying  clothes,  air, 
etc.  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
friction  of  the  feet  in  walking  is  ruinous  to 
a  tar  and  gravel  or  tin  roof,  and  proper 
gratings  should  be  placed  over  the  root 
covering  to  preserve  it  from  injury.  Bulk- 
head studding  is  filled  in  with  brick  and 
covered  with  boards  and  metal  to  make  it 
fireproof,  and  the  door  is  made  in  the  way 
illustrated  in  the  last  chapter. 

I  have  now  led  this  subject  up  from  the 
first  floor  to  the  roof,  so  I  will   here  give 


FIG.  22-A — ELEVATION  AND  PLAN  OF  STORE  FRONT. 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


some  general  instructions  about  miscella- 
neous details  to  be  attended  to.  The  car 
penter  or  framer  may  be  called  upon  to  set 
the  window  frames,  and  as  this  is  a  com- 
paratively simple  matter,  I  will  not  com- 
ment upon  it  except  to  urge  the  absolute 
necessity  of  getting  all  frames  perfectly 
plumb,  square  and  out  of  wind, and  to  have 
them  all  well  braced  back  to  the  beams  so 
that  the  mason  or  bricklayer  may  not  jar 
them  out  of  position.  The  carpenter  will 
also  be  obliged  to  furnish  the  mason  with 
all  the  wood  lintels  to  be  placed  at  the 
back  of  the  stone  lintels  he  may  require. 
These  are  used  to  span  the  width  of  the 
door  or  window  opening  and  to  form  a 
centre  for  the  arch  which  is  turned  over 
them.  They  are  made  of  3"xio"  or  3" 
xi  2"  plank,  and  are  beveled  on  the  ends 
as  shown  at  Fig.  22,  with  4  inches  of  bear- 
ing on  each  jam.  Where  the  front  is  of 
iron  columns  and  girders  as  seen  in  Fig, 
22-A,  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  carpenter 
to  see  that  screw  holes  are  drilled  and 
tapped  in  the  iron  work  for  the  purpose  of 
fastening  the  iron  work  thereto.  The  plan 
and  elevation  shown  in  the  engraving  are 
self  explanatory,  so  that  any  carpenter  can 
understand  how  necessary  it  is  to  be 
familiar  with  the  modern  methods  of  con- 
structing city  houses  in  order  to  be  up 
with  the  times.  Another  thing  I  would 
call  attention  to  before  concluding,  and 
that  is  the  methods  of  fire-proof  floor  con- 
struction given  in  the  foregoing  engravings 
in  order  that  all  may  be  thoroughly  posted. 


CHAPTER  V. 
WOOD  AND  IRON  CONSTRUCTION. 

In  the  beginning  I  would  state  that 
wrought  and  cast  iron  and  steel  have  al- 
most entirely  displaced  timber  as  posts  and 
columns,  and  in  some  cases  floor  beams, 


especially  in  cities  and  the  large  towns, 
where  stringent  fire  laws  make  their  absence 
conspicuous  in  office  or  warehouse  build- 
ings, but  they  are  still  used  in  dwelling 
houses  and  flats  and,  in  conjunction  with 
iron,  in  warehouse  and  factory  construc- 
tion. With  a  view  therefore  of  giving  the 
carpenter  and  framer  an  insight  of  this 
work,  the  following  will  be  found  of  value 
even  if  working  from  plans. 

At  Fig.  23  will  be  seen  a  very  fair  ex- 
ample of  composite  construction,  which 
consists  of  cylindrical  cast  iron  columns, 
cast  with  bases  and  brackets,  the  latter 
being  used  as  supports  or  rests  to  carry 
on  the  basement  columns,  two  1 2-inch  steel 
I  beams  bolted  together  and  kept  together 
(to  act  as  one)  by  cast  iron  separators. 
The  ends  of  these  I  beams  are  bolted  to 
lugs  cast  on  the  columns  in  the  manner 
seen  in  the  side  view  at  Fig.  23.  The  first 
story  columns,  not  having  so  much  weight 
to  sustain  as  those  above,  are  generally 
made  lighter  in  the  metal  and  of  better 
design,  and  have  in  this  case  but  one  I 
beam  bolted  to  them.  The  sectional  end 
of  the  I  beam  is  shown  on  the  front  view, 
and  the  side  as  bolted  to  the  column  in 
the  end  view ;  timber  floor  beams  may  be 
placed  on  these,  crossing  them  at  right 
angles  and  spread  out  at  12  or  16  inch 
centres,  as  desired,  according  to  the  weight 
placed  upon  the  floor.  For  ordinary  stores 
or  warehouses  sustaining  a  weight  from  1 50 
to  250  pounds  per  square  foot,  the  construc- 
tion here  given  with  the  columns,  spaced 
10  feet  between  centres  will  be  sufficient; 
but  care  should  be  taken  to  design  or  lay 
out  the  work,  not  less  than  three  times  as 
strong  as  is  really  necessary.  The  old 
rule  of  making  every  construction — "A 
little  stronger  than  strong  enough," — is 
now  obsolete,  and  every  structure  must  be 
carefully  and  accurately  calculated,  and  put 
together  so  as  to  be  in  perfect  equilibrium 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  EOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


FIG.  23 — ELEVATIONS  AND  DETAILS 

and  free  from  liability  of  collapse.  From 
the  above  description  and  a  close  study  of 
Fig.  23,  any  intelligent  mechanic  will  be 
able  to  grasp  the  details  of  this  form  of 
wood  and  iron  construction. 

Where  well-holes  for  stairs,  trap-doors, 
hatchways,  or  skylights  occur,  according 
to  the  exigency  of  the  plan,  they  have  the 
header  and  side  beams  doubled,  the  headers 
and  tail  beams  being  mortised,  tenoned  and 
joggled  together  and  hung  in  a  bridle  or 
stirrup  iron  seen  in  the  engraving  Fig.  24. 
This  useful  appendix  in  framing  is  a  ffi', 
or  %",  x  2"  wrought  iron  strap  so  con- 
structed that  it  hangs  or  hooks  over  the 
trimmer  or  headers  and  sustains  the  head- 
ers or  tail  beams  so  as  to  add  to  them 


e  CrD 


WOOD  AND  IRON  CONSTRUCTION. 

additional  strength  to  the  beam.  The  writer 
prefers  not  to  mortise  the  tail  or  header 
beams,  but  to  simply  abut  them  against 
face  of  the  beam  and  spike  it  solidly  there- 


FIG.  24- — STIRRUP  IRONS. 

to,  believing  that  the  stirrup  is  sufficiently 
strong  to  support  the  beam  without  weak- 
ening the  header  to  which  it  is  attached. 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


The  illustration  Fig.  25,  will  convey  to 
carpenters  the  method  of  laying  sleepers 
on  bearers  in  concrete  laid  on  top  of  brick 
or  terra  cotta  arches  in  fireproof  floors. 
These  floors  are  now  entirely  emplo)  ed  in 
so-called  fireproof  builcings,  in  the  first 
floor  of  flats  and  in  engineering  structures. 
The  4x4  or  3x3  strips  are  set  in  the  con- 
crete above  the  level  of  the  I  beams.  These 
must  be  set  level  and  fair  with  a  line  and 
straight  edge  so  the  floor  will  be  level. 


can  be  clearly  understood  in  a  few  minutes. 
Fig.  27  is  the  Flitch  Plate  girder  made  up 
of  two  or  more  timber  beams,  haxing  a 
plate  of  rolled  iron  or  steel  sandwiched  be- 
tween them,  the  whole  being  solidly  bolted 
together.  This  construction  is  not  .io 
economical  as  a  steel  or  rolled  iron  I  beam, 
but  can  be  employed  in  some  cases. 

I  here  illustrate,  in  Fig?.  28  and  29,  the 
longitudinal  and  transvei.ce  sections  of  a 
floor  made  up  of  timber  beams,  n  sting  on 


The  writer  is  much  opposed  to  this 
method,  because  even  if  the  strips 
be  dovetailed  and  set  in  the  wet  ce- 
ment concrete,  where,  as  they  dry, 
they  will  invariably  shrink  and  be- 
come loose.  To  this  is  added  their 
liability  to  rot  from  absorbing  the  damp- 
ness in  the  concrete.  For  placing  these 
sleepers  or  bearers  the  writer  has  adopted 
the  method  represented  at  Fig.  26,  where 
they  are  wedged  fast  and,  being  above  the 
concrete,  cannot  rot  or  be  affected  by 
shrinkage.  The  construction  of  this  form 


FIG.    25 — SECTION  OF    FIREPROOF    FLOOR 
AND  ITS  CONSTRUCTION. 

the  bottom  plate  of  a  girder  made  up  of 
two  steel  I  beams  with  a  plate  under  to 
give  a  full  bearing  to  the  timbers.  This 
will  be  clearly  s<  en  by  a  study  of  Fig.  28^ 
also  the  method  of  tying  them  together  by 
a  2  inch  x  2  inch  wrought  iron  strap,  one 


-SECTION   SHOWING    IVIETHOD  OF 
WEDGING  BEARER?. 

of  which  passes  over  the  top  of  the  girder 
on  one  beam  and  under  it  on  the  next  one, 
or  on  every  second  beam,  thus  tying  the 
timbers  together  on  each  side  of  the  girder, 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


73 


FIG.  27 — FLITCH   PLATE  GIRDERS. 


by  being  thoroughly  spiked  to  each  beam,      good   bearing   on   both  ends,  and  bridged 
The  beams  are  fully  fitted  so  as  to  have  a     with  doub'e  rows  of  bridging  in  each  span. 


FIG.   28 — LONGITUDINAL  SECTION  OF  FLOOR. 


74 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK   HOUSE. 


FIG.  29 — TRANSVERSE  SECTION  OF  FLOOR. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
HEAVY  BEAMS  AND  GIRDERS  AND  RAISING 

SAME. 

As  the  framing  details  of  heavy  modern 
construction  have  never  yet  been  properly 
considered,  I  will  in  this  chapter  convey  to 
carpenters  and  builders  some  information 
which  they  will  find  of  the  greatest  value 
in  their  practice.  We  will  assume  that  the 
Figs.  28  and  29  is  requisite  fora  large  five- 
story  stable  or  warehouse  to  be  capable  of 


sustaining  a  safe  bearing  load  of  from  200 
to  250  pounds  to  the  square  foot.  It  will 
be  necessary  that  the  timbers  be  large  and 
of  superior  timber,  presumably  of  yellow 
pine,  which  is  the  best  and  most  easily  ob- 
tained in  the  modern  market.  The  timber 
bill  will  also  be  large  and  should  be  very 
carefully  compiled  from  the  plans  and  speci- 
fications so  as  to  get  all  the  pieces  on  the 
job.  To  this  end  a  list  should  be  made  out, 
each  item  being  under  a  separate  heading 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


75 


with  the  quantities  required  for  each  length, 
etc.,  as 

Girders, 
Posts, 

Floor  Beams, 

Roof, 

Braces, 

Studding. 

With  this  list  and  a  framing  plan  any 
skilled  carpenter  or  framer  may  lay  out( 
frame  or  raise  the  timbers  for  a  heavy  job. 
I  would  state  here  that  the  framing  plan 
should  be  furnished  by  the  architect,  and  it 
usually  is  a  plan  of  each  story  with  the 
girders  and  floor  beams,  the  headers,  trim- 
mers, etc.,  shown  on  it  so  that  it  is  a  map 
or  diagram  of  each  timber  required  and  an 
invaluable  guide  to  the  foreman  mechanic. 
In  regard  to  the  actual  framing  of  the  tim- 
bers there  is  little  to  be  said  which  I  have 
not  already  described,  with  the  exception 
that  the  form  of  construction  should  be 
stronger  than  those  previously  published, 
and  for  the  instruction  of  readers  I  now 
show  them  why.  Fig.  30  will  give  an  idea 


i-iG.  30 — A  TUSK  TENON. 

of  a  stronger  form  of  tenon  and  mortise  for 
3"xio",  3"xi2",  or  3'xi4"  or  16"  floor, 
tail  and  header  beams  where  bridle  irons 
are  not  used,  and  care  should  be  taken  to 
have  the  tenon  and  mortise  above  the  neu- 


tral axis  of  the  timber  as  shown  in  the 
sketch  by  the  dotted  line.  This  "  tusk  " 
tenon  gives  great  strength  and  may  be 
used  with  advantage  on  3",  4"  or  6"  floor 
or  roof  timbers,  where  there  is  a  short 
header  as  that  framed  around  a  chimney  ; 
but  if  the  header  be  over  six  feet  long,  I 
would  recommend  that  the  tenon  be  omit- 
ted entirely,  and  each  tail  or  header  beam 
hung  in  bridle  irons,  as  I  described  in  a 
previous  chapter. 

A  word  more  in  regard  to  main  support- 
ing girders  Recent  experience  has  shown 
me  that  the  best  way  to  join  them  over 
columns  is  to  simply  abut  them  together, 
end  to  end,  and  insert  double  end  T  anchors 
to  tie  them  together,  or,  if  the  bearing  sur- 
face be  not  large  to  halve  them  with  a  sim- 
ple half,  as  in  the  case  of  a  sill  or  plate. 
The  form  of  construction,  which  I  illustrate 
at  Fig.  31,  will  explain  my  preference,  as 


1  

1  j  .-}-—  \ 

FIG.    31 — FRAMING  OF  A  GIRDER  AROUND 
AN  IRON  COLUMN. 

it  will  be  seen  there  that  the  girder  has 
its  ends  of  the  two  lengths  mortised  out  to 
fit  one  of  the  sleeves  of  the  columns,  there- 
by weakening  its  strength  where  it  is  most 
needed,  but  it  had  to  be  done  here  for  the 
reason  that  the  vertical  line  of  cast-iron 
columns  rested  on  each  other  from  story 
to  story,  the  whole  being  carried  by  a 
heavy  brick  pier  in  the  cellar.  A  halved 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


horizontal  joint  with  cast-iron  or  oak 
dowels  inserted  in  its  inside  face  is,  where 
possible,  the  best  for  girders. 

Similarly  with  wooden  posts  or  columns 
of  any  dimensions,  of  more  than  24  square 
inches  of  area  on  top  and  bottom  ends,  the 
mechanic  will  invariably  find  that  the  best 
construction  is  to  cut  them  squaie  (bare 
foot)  and  insert  two  or  three  dowels  to  keep 
them  from  slipping  sideways.  I  may  here 
say  that  architects  are  realizing  that  the 
mortise  and  tenon  system  sacrifices  the 
strength  of  the  piece  mortised  to  that  of  the 
piece  tenoned  in  constructive  framing,  and 
are  equalizing  the  loss  by  the  adoption  of 
the  dowel  which  the  mediaeval  and  ancient 
framers  used  with  the  greatest  success. 

Regarding  the  raising  of  heavy  beams 
and  girders,  I  would  state  that  this  opera- 
tion demands  apparatus,  and  also  skill  on 
the  part  of  the  framer.  The  apparatus  or 
appliances  can  be  readily  made  of  wood, 
and  are  indispensable  for  the  safe  handling 
of  timbers  too  unwieldy  to  be  lifted  by 
hand.  The  first  and  most  important  are 
the  ordinary  rollers  which,  being  placed  on 
inclined  planes  of  planks  or  beams,  enable 
the  mechanics  to  roll  up  heavy  beams  or 
girders  on  the  first  floors  from  which  they 
are  hoisted  to  the  upper  floors.  These 
rollers  should  not  be  less  than  from  4  to  6 
inches  in  diameter,  and  be  of  oak,  maple  or 
some  other  hard  timber  not  liable  to  crush, 
bruise  or  splinter.  They  may  be  of  any 
handy  length,  say  from  2  to  4  feet  long,  so 
as  to  be  easily  handled.  A  very  excelle/'t 
roller  for  use  on  the  floor  beams  is  that 
shown  in  the  engraving  Fig.  32.  As  will 
be  seen,  it  is  simply  a  roller  set  in  a  frame, 
so  that  the  frame  spans  three  or  four  floor 
beams,  and  heavy  timbers  can  be  rolled  on 
it  with  greater  ease  than  with  a  common 
roller  on  planks.  The  use  of  rollers  is,  as 
the  reader  will  understand,  of  the  greatest 
necessity  where  timbers  weighing  from  600 


to  2,500  pounds  ha\  e  to  be  moved  on  floor 
beams  freshly  set  in  gretn  brick  walls. 

When  the  timbers  are  on  the  floor  they 
will  next  be  raised  or  hoisted  into  position, 
and  this  may  be  very  conveniently  done 
with  the  aid  of  the  improvised  derrick  icp- 
resented  at  Fig  33.  It  is  made  up  of  a  T 


FJG.  32 — ROLLER  FOR  USE  ON  FLOOR 
BFAMS. 

sole  or  base  formed  of  two  3">8"  or  3"x 
10,'  timbers  bolted  together,  and  on  these 
are  raised  two  uprights  or  standards  of  2x 
4  or  2x6  spruce  joists  slightly  pitched  for- 
ward. To  these,  two  braces  are  bolted 
from  the  shank  c  f  the  T  to  the  top.  On 
the  uprights  a  windlass  with  a  pawl  and 
ratchet  is  bolted.  With  the  usual  block  and 
tackle  lashed  to  the  top  end  of  this  derrick 
and  the  addition  of  '  guv  "  ropes,  almost 
any  heavy  timber  girder  may  be  safely 
raised.  If  the  mechanic  is  afraid  his  up- 
rights might  buckle  under  the  strain  of  the 
weight,  he  can  nail  horizontal  cleats  across 
their  edges,  spacing  out  the  cleats  12  or  14 
inches  apart,  so  as  to  form  a  ladder  to  get 
up  and  make  fast  the  guys  or  blocks  and 
tackle. 

A  very  important  matter  which  the  framer 
should  guard  against  in  raising  and  placing 
heavy  timbers  on  a  new  building  is,  to 
avoid  jarring  the  green  walls  by  handling 
the  timbers  too  roughly.  This  must  be 
especially  guarded  against  on  the  upper 
stories,  and  the  girders  and  wooden  or  iron 
columns  or  posts  must  be  securely  braced, 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS   FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


77 


both  transversely  and  longitudinally,  before 
commencing  to  place  the  floor  timbers. 
When  there  is  a  wide  unsupported  span  of 


FIG.   33 — AN  IMPROVISED  TIMBER 
DERRICK. 

timber,  s  y  over  twenty  feet,  a  temporary 
top  and  bottom  plate  and  a  few  good  studs 
should  be  placed  under  the  centre  of  the 
span,  to  prevent  their  springing  when 
weighted  and  thus  avoid  jarring  the  walls. 
I  am  very  much  opposed  to  the  practice  of 
omitting  timbers  or  series  of  timbers,  leav- 
ing them  out  for  the  purpose  of  leaving 
wells  for  hod-hoisters  or  such  like  purpose, 
as  I  believe  such  omissions  leave  weak  spots 
in  the  brick  walls,  as  they  need  to  be  thor- 
oughly tied  when  freshly  laid  or  green 
All  straps,  irons  and  ties,  and  anchors 
should  be  put  in  as  soon  as  the  timbers  are 


placed,  and  be  very  carefully  fitted  and 
thoroughly  nailed  in  order  to  avoid  the 
possibility  of  a  high  wind  or  any  other  strain 
pulling  them  apart.  If  the  anchors  should 
not  be  on  the  job  then  temporary  hardwood 
straps  may  be  nailed  on,  but  they  are  only 
a  makeshift  and  should  be  done  without  by 
ordering  the  irons  early.  To  omit  putting 
the  strap  anchors  on  the  longitudinal  gird- 
ers is  a  criminal  proceeding,  especially  on 
a  high  building  or  when  the  girders  have 
a  square  butt  joint.  In  conclusion  I  can't 
say  too  much  to  carpenters,  about  taking 
the  greatest  care  in  the  details  of  their 
heavy  framing,  so  as  to  avoid  all  danger 
of  collapses  or  accidents,  which  are  full  of 
menace  to"  the  lives  of  mechanics  and  mean 
loss  of  reputation  and  money  to  all  inter- 
ested. In  order  to  explain  what  precedes, 
the  following  will  be  useful  to  those  who 
do  heavy  framing  or  work  on  city  house 
framing.  They  are  most  economical  and 
any  foreman  will  have  no  difficulty  in  lay- 
ing them  provided  he  be  careful  in  measur- 
ing. The  sketch,  Fig.  34,  illustrates  the 


\        ' 


\' 


FIG.    34 — A  STKAP  ANCHOR  NAILED  ON. 

proper  method  of  tying  flo  >r  beams  end  to 
end  where  they  rest  on  a  party  or  inter- 
mediate wall.  It  simply  consists  of  a  ^ 
inch  by  i  J/£  inch  wrought  iron  strap  tie  or 
"  strap  anclior"  as  some  mechanics  term  it, 
with  holes  for  inserting  nails.  This  is 
usually  nailed  on  every  fourth  or  fifth  pair 
of  beams  thus  tying  the  houses  together 
on  every  tier  and  increasing  the  strength 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK   HOUSE. 


of  the  brick  walls  which  would  naturally 
fall  under  lateral  pressure  such  as  wind  or 
strain  were  each  not  anchored  or  tied  to 
that  opposite.  In  some  cases  the  ends  of 
the  floor  beams  are  beveled,  as  seen  by  the 
dotted  lines  in  the  illustration.  This  is 
done  so  that  in  case  a  fire  occurs  and  the 
beam  falls,  it  will  fall  clear,  without  acting 
as  a  lever  to  overturn  the  wall  above  it. 

The  next  illustration,  Fig.  35,  is  a  very 
excellent  and  economical  way  to  join  two 
abutting  girders  end  to  end  so  as  to  form  a 


E 


(0 


T 


FIG.  35 — A  DOUBLE  T  STRAP  ANCHOR. 

continuous  girder.  It  is  made  the  same 
way  as  the  foregoing,  and  is  of  heavier 
metal,  usually  ^  inch  by  2  inches  wide 
with  a  T  end,  as  seen  in  the  engraving. 
It  is,  for  greater  strength  and  in  order  to 
get  the  full  retaining  power  of  the  T  ends, 
let  into  the  face  of  the  beam  flush  and  there 
nailed,  thus  making,  if  one  be  inserted  on 
each  side  of  the  joint,  an  excellent  anchor 
and  a  very  cheap  method  of  construction 
as  there  is  no  framing  called  for,  the  ends 
being  simply  sawn  square  and  the  strap 
anchor  inserted  and  nailed. 

The  illustration,  Fig.  36,  is  another  eco- 
nomical manner  of  joining  girders.  It 
consists  of  the  old-fashioned  half  or  scarf 
with  two  dowels  of  iron  placed  in  holes 
bored  to  receive  them  so  as  to  prevent  the 
timbers  forming  the  girders  from  pulling 
apart.  Under  and  over  the  girder  a  bolster 
of  hard  wood  is  placed  to  receive  the 


thrusts  of  the  posts.  This  makes  a  very 
good  form  of  tie  at  the  joint,  though  the 
writer  prefers  the  strap  T  anchors,  as  there 
is  no  liability  of  the  joint  splitting  should 


\ 


t 


FIG.    36 — A  HALVED  AND  DOWELLED 
JOINT. 

the  walls  bulge.  I  might  state,  the  very 
heavy  wooden  girder  in  a  store  or  ware- 
house building  should  have  star  anchors  to 
pass  entirely  through  the  wall  and  there 
be  tightened  with  a  nut. 

Let  us  here,  in  connection  with  framing 
of  heavy  timbers,  impress  on  every  carpen- 
ter the  importance  of  being  familiar  with 
the  proper  knots  for  tying  and  fastening 
his  ropes  to  the  timbers  when  lifting  them 
up.  As  I  have  seen  in  many  journals  some 
unusal  knots  which,  to  my  mind,  are  not 
reliable  unless  made  by  a  sailor,  rigger,  or 
some  one  thoroughly  accustomed  to  ropes, 
I  would  recommend  carpenters  to  stick  to 
the  simple  timber  hitch,  which  is  made  by 
passing  the  rope  once  around  the  timber» 
taking  one  turn  on  the  rope  and  twisting 
it  as  seen  in  the  sketch,  Fig.  37.  If  it  be 
necessary  to  lengthen  a  rope  or  join  two 
pieces'  end,  the  simple  reef  knot  shown  at 


HOW  TO  FRAME  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  A  BRICK  HOUSE. 


79 


FIG.  37. 

Fig.  38,  may  be  used,  but  all  knots  should 
be  absolutely  certain   and  sure  to  hold  to 


FIG.   38. 


avoid  accidents.  I  have  seen  several  men 
killed  by  poor  knots,  and  if  one  is  not  sure 
he  should  turn  the  job  over  to  some  man 
who  can  make  a  reliable  knot. 

I  have  been  noticing  lately  the  difference 
between  the  ways  by  which  various  build- 
ers and  foremen  take  care  of  their  stuff  as 
it  comes  to  the  job,  and  have  been  seriously 
impressed  with  the  results  thereof.  I  find 
that  the  usual  method  is  to  dump  sawn 
timber  carelessly  in  any  place  close  to  the 
job,  letting  the  timbers  lie  as  they  fall,  in 
any  position,  without  properly  stacking 
them,  and  the  result  is  very  injurious  to  the 
material.  Sawn  framing  timbers  should  be 
put  into  piles  at  once,  for,  being  green  or 
unseasoned,  if  it  is  piled  with  one  timber 
bearing  on  its  fellow,  the  one  underneath 
will  become  twisted,  will  crack  and  warp 
so  as  to  be  unfit  for  bearing  purposes.  In 
stacking,  if  it  is  to  lie  long  on  the  ground 
strips  should  be  placed  between  the  ranges 
so  as  to  allow  the  air  to  circulate  through 
them  and  help  seasoning. 


PART  III. 

FRAMING  ROOFS. 


COPYRIGHT  1893  BY  OWEN  B.  MAGINNIS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

IN  COMMENCING  these  chapters  on 
the  framing  of  difficult  roofs,  I  do  so 
with  the  assurance  that  readers  will  find 
them  valuable,  in  being  able  to  apply  them 
practically  in  their  work  and  to  any  of  the 
intricate  roof  problems  which  may  be 
brought  before  them.  I  will  endeavor  to 
make  them  as  clear  and  comprehensible  as 
is  possible  with  the  subject,  so  that  any 
roof  timbers  may  be  laid  out  by  referring 
to  one  or  other  of  the  roofs  described. 
No  ordinary  roofs  will  be  dealt  with  in 
order  that  the  chapters  may  cover  a  field 
hitherto  untouched  by  previous  writers 
Though  the  descriptions  may  be  entirely 
new,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  embrace 
in  them  the  fundamental  principles  of 
geometry  which  invariably  contrcl  all 
mechanical  operations. 


CHAPTER  I. 
LAYING  AND  FRAMING  A  SIMPLE  ROOF. 

Let  A,  B,  C,  D,  Fig.  i,  be  the  plan  of 
the  wall  plates.  A  D  a  gabled* end,  and 
B  C  a  hipped  end  of  the  building,  which  is 
to  be  framed  and  raised  as  represented  at 
Fig.  1 6,  for  the  hipped  end,  and  Fig.  7  for 
the  gabled  end.  The  roof  is  I  2  feet  wide 
to  the  outside  faces  of  the  wall,  and  the 
rise  or  pitch  4  feet  or  one-third  the  span. 
The  dotted  lines  denote  centre  lines. 

To  lay  out  the  gable  end  produce  the 
centre  line  of  the  ridge  E,  I,  F  to  G,  and 
from  F  measure  up  4  feet,  join  G,  A  and 


FIG    i — PLAN  AND  LAYOUT  OF  A  SIMPLE  Rooi 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


81 


G,  D.  Now  set  off  on  each  side  of  the 
dotted  line  shown,  the  width  of  the  rafter,  2 
inches  on  each  side  for  a  4-inch  rafter,  and 
3  inches  on  each  side  for  a  6-inch  rafter  as 
shown  on  the  top  of  Fig.  i,  deduct  half  the 
thickness  of  the  ridge,  half  inch,  from  each 
rafter  peak,  cut  also  notch  out  for  the  cut 
on  the  plate.  All  the  rafters  from  F  to  E 
will  be  framed  thus. 

For  the  hip  rafters,  take  the  distance  B, 
C,  and  transfer  it  to  J,  K,  divide  it  into 
two  parts  6  feet  at  L,  and  square  up  as  L. 


lengths  of  the  jacks  will  be  to  the  line  O, 
P,  R,  K,  and  their  side  level  will  be  as  P. 
The  bottom  notch  will,  of  course,  be  as  at 
A  or  D ;  K  shows  the  bottom  notch  for 
the  hip  rafters  and  N  the  peak  cut. 


CHAPTER    II. 

HIP  AND  VALLEY  ROOFS. 

The  first  roof  which  I  produce  is  one  ot 
the  hip  and  valley  class,  or  a  main   rec- 


FIG.  2. 


M,  O.  Join  M,  J,  and  M,  K.  Produce 
J,  M,  to  N,  (dotted  line,)  and  join  N,  K. 
N,  K,  will  be  the  centre  line  length  of  the 
hip,  and  the  width  may  now  be  set  off  on 
each  side  of  it  in  the  manner  shown  in  the 
diagram. 

With  K  as  centre  and  K,  N  as  radius, 
strike  the  arc  N,  O,  cutting  L,  M  extended 
in  O.  On  L,  K  lay  off  the  jack  rafter  as 
Q,  P,  S,  R,  etr.  ;  equally  spaced  and  square 
to  the  wall  plate  (not  askew  as  I  have 
drawn  one  jack  in  Fig,  i).  The  exact 


tangular  building  with  an  L  or  addition. 
A,  B,  C,  F,  D,  Fig.  2,  is  the  plan  of  the 
building  and  the  outside  line  of  the  wall 
plates.  The  roof  is  of  half  pitch  or  square 
pitch,  as  some  mechanics  call  it,  which 
means  the  height  of  the  roof  is  equal  to 
half  the  width  of  the  house.  The  house 
has  two  gables,  one  on  each  end  of  the 
main  part  with  a  hip  on  the  L,  and  the 
intersection  of  the  L  roof  with  the  main 
roof  produces  two  valleys.  E,  I,  D,  is  the 
plan  of  the  hip,  and  E,  I,  D,  is  the  eleva- 


82 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


tion  of  it  shown  on  the  elevation  below, 
Fig.  3,  where  the  general  view  of  the  con- 
structed roof  is  shown.  Q,  J  and  J,  F  are 
the  valleys  on  the  plan. 


FIG.  3. 

In  framing  this  roof,  the  simplest  way  is 
as  follows  : 

To  obtain  lengths  and  bevels  of  the  com- 
mon rafter,  produce  the  ridge  line  G,  J,  H? 
to  L  and  K.  Join  A,  K  and  K,  Q ;  also 
B,  L  and  L,  C.  -A,  K  will  be  the  neat 
length  of  the  common  rafter,  if  no  ridge 
board  is  inserted,  but  if  there  be  a  ridge 
board,  half  its  thickness  must  be  sawn  off 
the  length  on  the  bevel  for  the  cut  on  the 
plate.  Any  ordinary  mind  will  see  the 
simplicity  of  this  method. 

For  the  hip  rafters  which  will  stand  over 
the  seats  E,  I,  and  D,  I,  produce  the  line 
D,  I,  to  M,  and  set  off  on  it  the  height  of 
the  pitch,  I,  M,  equal  to  K,  G.  Join  M, 
E ;  M,  E,  will  be  the  exact  length  of  the 
hip  rafter  required,  and  the  bevel  at  M, 
will  fit  the  top  cut.  In  regard  to  the  cuts 
for  the  jack  rafters,  which  run  up  the  hips 
and  valleys,  it  might  be  said  that  the  top 
cuts  against  the  ridges  for  the  rafters  which 
run  up  the  valleys,  have  the  top  cut  same 
as  the  common  rafter  top  cut.  The  bot- 
tom one  which  nails  against  can  be  readily 
determined  by  the  following  simple  meth- 
od :  Produce  the  ridge  line  J,  I,  to  N, 
and  make  D,  N,  and  N,  E,  equal  to  M,  E, 
the  length  of  the  hip.  W,  is  the  jack  on 
its  seat  or  as  it  will  appear  in  position.  X, 


is  the  exact  length  of  it  from  the  plate  line 
to  the  hip,  and  the  bevel  at  X,  will  be  the 
exact  bevel  for  all  jacks  both  on  hips  and 
valleys,  being  reversed  for  different  sides, 
right  and  left  hand. 

The  plumb  cut  of  the  jacks  will  be  half 
pitch,  or  on  the  steel  square,  12  and  12. 

In  order  to  prove  the  exactness  of  this 
method  of  laying  out  such  a  roof,  we  will 
proceed  to  develop  its  planes  or  side?. 

As  the  rectangular  plane,  A,  B,  G,  H, 
take  a  pair  of  compasses  with  a  pencil 
point,  and  with  A,  as  a  centre,  and  with 
A,  K,  radius,  describe  the  arc  K,  I ;  draw 
I,  U,  parallel  to  A.  B,  produce  G,  A,  to  I, 
and  H,  B,  to  U,  this  will  give  A,  B,  U,  I, 
the  exact  covering  of  A,  G,  H,  B,  on  the 
pitch  C,  K ;  A  K,  being  the  length  of  the 
common  rafter  with  its  necessary  bevels. 

For  the  plane  J,  H,  C,  F,  produce  B,  L, 
to  G',  and  draw  C,  F,  Q,  parallel  to  B,  L, 
J,  G'.  Make  L,  J,  G',  equal  to  H,  J,  G. 

C,  F,  equal  to  C,  F,  also  F',  Q',  equal  to 
Q,  F,  make  J,  F,  and  J,  Q,  equal  to  M,  E, 
which  will  complete   the   plane   or  surface 
to  cover  G,  J,  H,  C,  F,  Q,  on  the  plan. 

For  the  plane  J,  F.  D,  I.  take  D,  as 
centre,  with  D,  F,  radius,  and  describe  the 
quarter  circle  F,  P.  Produce  E,  D,  to  P, 
and  through  P  draw  P,  O,  parallel  to  D, 
N,  also  through  N  draw  N,  O,  parallel  to 

D,  P.     D,  N,  O,  P,  will  be  the  developed 
covering,    and    Q,    R,    S,    E,  is    similarly 
found. 

B,  L,  C,  and  A,  K,  Q,  are  the  gables. 

Now  if  this  roof  be  laid  out  on  a  piece 
of  thin  wood  or  stiff  bristol  board  the  roof 
can  be  folded  over  by  cutting  entirely 
through  the  following  lines  :  Cut  from  K 
to  A,  A  to  I,  I  to  U,  U  to  B,  B  to  I,  I  to 
G',  Q'  to  J',  J'  to  F',  F  to  C,  C  to  F,  F  to 
D,  D  to  P,  P  to  O,  O  to  N,  N  to  E,  E  to 
S,  S  to  R,  and  R  to  Q.  Also  make  a  slit 
half  way  through  the  thickness  of  the 
board,  from  Q  to  A,  A  to  B,  B  to  C,  C  to 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


I,  D  to  N,  D  to  E,  and  E  to  Q.      By  fold-     deck  is  formed  on  the  top,  or,  more  prop- 
ing  the  sides  or  planes  over,  the  exact  roof     erly,  two    ridges   are   needed,  one  for  each 
will   be   seen,  thereby  proving  the  exacti- 
tude of  the  methods  used.     This  plan  will 
be  the  base  or  plates.    , 


CHAPTER  III.' 

ROOFS  OF  IRREGULAR  PLAN. 

This  roof   is   of  another  and  rather  un- 
common  plan,  and  one  which  will  be  in- 


FIG.  5. 

side,  and  parallel  to  each  wall  plate ;  these 
are  shown  as  E,  F,  and  E,  G. 


FIG.  4. 


teresting  to  work  out.  It  is  a  form  of  roof 
which  sometimes  occurs  and  will  prove 
useful. 

A,  B,  C,  D,  is  the  plan,  Fig.  4,  and  it 
will  be  noticed  that  the  side  walls  are  not 
parallel,  or  at  equal  distance  apart  from 
end  to  end,  but  spread  or  widen  out  from 
A  to  B,  and  from  C  to  D,  or  B,  D,  is 
longer  than  A,  C.  Similarly  A,  B,  is 
longer  than  C,  D,  and  not  parallel  to  C,  D. 
For  this  reason,  coupled  with  the  necessity 
•of  keeping  the  ridge  level  on  both  sides  a 


The  seats  of  the  hips  as  A,  E,  C,  E,  B( 
F,  and  D,  G,  are  found  by  bisecting  each 
of  the  separate  angles  on  the  plan,  which 
can  be  done  by  taking  any  two  points 
equidistant  from  the  apex  of  the  angle  as 
A,  and  striking  intersecting  arcs.  (As 
every  carpenter  knows  how  to  do  this,  I 
will  not  illustrate  it  here.)  This  process 
will  give  the  seats  of  the  hips  as  shown  and 
lettered/with  the  addition  of  a  short  piece 
of  ridge  F,  G. 

To  find  the   lengths  and  bevels   of  the 


84 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


rafters,  proceed  as  follows  :  For  the  com- 
mon rafters  to  range  from  U,  E  to  V,  F, 
on  the  one  side,  and  from  E,  W  to  G,  X, 
on  the  other  side ;  raise  up  the  pitch  G,  P. 
Square  out  from  G  to  X,  and  join  P  X> 
which  joining  line  will  be  the  exact  length 
of  the  common  rafter  from  outer  edge  of 
plate  to  centre  line  of  ridge.  To  obtain 
length  of  hip  rafters  square  up  from  each 
point  at  the  peaks,  as  E,  H,  F,  I,  on  one 
side.  Make  E,  H  and  F,  I,  each  equal  to 
G,  P ;  A,  H  and  B,  I  will  be  the  lengths  of 
the  hip  rafters,  which  will  rise  over  A,  E 
and  B,  F.  The  hip  rafters,  which  will  be 
set  up  over  the  seats  C,  E  and  D,  G,  are 
determined  in  a  similar  manner.  The  top 
and  bottom  bevels  delineated  at  the  peaks 
and  bottoms  are  the  top  and  bottom  cuts 
of  each,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  no  two 
bevels  are  alike,  so  that  each  rafter  must  be 
carefully  laid  out  and  marked  for  each  par- 
ticular corner.  There  will  be  four  hips  of 
different  lengths  and  with  different  bevels, 
so  they  must  be  properly  framed.  In  re- 
gard to  the  jack  rafters,  they  are  shown  on 
the  right  side  spaced  out  on  the  wall  plate 
from  X  to  D,  against  the  hip,  G,  D.  Their 
top  down  bevel  or  plumb  cut  will  be  the 
side  bevel.  Similarly  with  those  from  D 
to  M,  the  plumb  cut  will  be  the  same  as  P, 
but  the  bevel  will  be  that  at  O. 

In  order  to  develop  the  planes   of  this 
roof,  commence  by  drawing   E,  U,  S,  from 

E,  through  W,  at  right  angles  to  E,  F,    or 
A,  B ;   also  draw  F,  V,  T  parallel  to  E,  U, 
S.     Make  A,  S,  equal  to  A,  H  by  taking 
A  as  centre  with  radius  A,  H,  and  striking 
the  arc    H,   S.     Thiough   S,   draw    S,  T, 
parallel  to  A  B.     If  a  centre  betaken  at  B, 
and    an   arc    struck    as  I,  T,  N,  it  will   be 
found  that  the  arc  will  pass  through  T,  or 

F,  V,  produced  at  T.     The  surface  A,  S, 
T,  B,  will   cover  the  plan  A,  E,  F,  B,  on 
the  pitch  E,  H. 

Draw  E,  J,  square  to  A,  C,  and  produce 


to  K.  Sweep  H,  S,  to  K,  and  join  A,  K, 
and  K,  C.  A,  K,  C,  will  be  the  covering 
plane  which  will  cover  over  A,  E,  C,  on 
plan.  For  the  plane  of  A,  E,  G,  D,  draw 
E,  W,  square  to  E,  G,  and  produce  to  Q. 
With  C  as  centre  and  C,  K,  as  radius, 
strike  the  arc  K,  Q  ;  draw  Q,  R,  parallel  to 

C,  D.     Join- C,  Q,  which  will  be  the  centre 
of  the  hip  rafter  on  this  side.      Draw  G,  X, 
square  to  C,  D,  and  produce  to  R ;  join  R, 

D,  C,  Q,  R,  D,  will  be  the  covering  plane 
which    v\ill  cover  over  C,  E,  G,  D,  on  the 
pitch  G,  P. 

Now  draw  G,  M,  and  F,  L,  square  to  B, 
D,  and  produce  them  to  N  and  O.  With 
D  as  centre  and  D,  R,  as  radius,  describe 
the  arc  R,  O,  also  the  T,  N.  Join  N,  O, 
B,  N,  O,  D,  will  be  the  covering  of  the 
plan  B,  F,  G,  D,  on  the  pitch  G,  P.  Q, 
R,  Y,  Z,  will  be  the  covering  or  deck, 
being  the  same  size  or  area  as  E,  F,  G. 

Above  the  plan  and  lay  out  of  the  roof 
will  be  seen  the  elevation,  or  as  it  will  ap- 
pear when  framed,  raised  and  covered. 

A  model  can  be  made  of  this  roof  by 
cutting  out  the  entire  outside  outline  of  the 
covering  and  making  a  slit  from  A  to  B, 
from  B  to  D,  from  D  to  C,  from  C  to  A, 
also  from  Q  to  R,  which  being  folded  up 
will  show  the  completed  roof  with  the 
rafters,  cuts  and  bevels  in  position. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PYRAMIDAL  ROOFS. 

Roof  framing  is  a  study  well  worth  the 
attention  of  every  carpenter.  The  roof 
illustrated  and  described  in  this  chapter  is 
one  which  occurs  on  many  houses  and 
cottages  now-a-days.  It  is  one  of  a  kind 
of  tower  roofs  on  a  square  plan,  or  as  they 
are  sometimes  termed  "Pyramidal  Roofs." 
A,  C,  D,  F.  Fig.  6,  is  the  projection  of  the 
roof  completed,  A,  C,  D,  B,  Fig.  7,  the 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


plan  of  the  roof  on  the  plates ;   AE,  CE, 
DE   and   BE,  being  the  hips  which    form 


FIG.  6. 

the  shape  of  the  roof  or  seats  over  AF, 
CF,  DF,  on  Fig.  6,  stand.     The  fourth  hip 


over  BE,  cannot  be  seen  on  the  projection, 
Fig.  6. 

In  order  to  find  the  length  of  the  hips, 
produce  the  line  E,  B,  indefinitely.  Now 
set  off  measuring  from  E,  the  height  of  the 
peak  to  F,  Fig.  6.  Join  AF,  which  will  be 
the  exact  length  of  either  of  the  four  hips. 
In  framing  this  roof  it  is  best  to  let  two 
opposite  hips,  as  BE,  and  EC,  on  the  same 
line  abut  against  each  other  at  the  peak, 
and  to  cut  off  their  thickness  from  the 
other  two  top  or  peak  cuts,  thus  :  If  BE, 
and  EC,  be  each  2  inches  thick,  then  i  inch 
will  be  cut  off  the  peak  cuts  of  AE,  and 
DE,  which  rest  against  them  at  E.  This 
is  done  in  the  same  manner  as  every  top 
cut  of  a  rafter  resting  against  a  ridge  must 
have  half  the  thickness  of  the  ridge  cut 
from  each  rafter.  The  bevel  at  F,  Fig.  7, 
is  the  bevel  of  all  four  top  cuts  and  that  at 


FIG.    7. 


86 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


A,  the  bevel    for   the   cuts   on    the   plate. 
Concerning  the  jack  rafters,  the  best  way 
to  determine  their  length  is  to  set  them  off 
the  plate  as  from  A,  to  C,  Fig.  7,  then  to 
draw  a  line  as  H,  E,  G,  through  E,  parallel 
to    AC,  or   BD.     With  A  as    centre    and 
AF,  as  radius  describe  the  arc  FG,  cutting 
the  H,  E,  G,  at  G.     Join  G,  A,  and  G,  B, 
The  triangle,  or  more   properly  speaking, 
the  triangular  surface  G,  A,  B,  will  be  the 
txact  covering  surface  of  the  roof  plane  A, 
E,  B. 

From  where  the  jack  rafters  come  against 
the  hip  AE,  draw  lines  parallel  to  E,  G, 
and  square  to  A,  B,  cutting  A,  G,  as  shown. 
The  lines  reaching  from  the  plan  line  A, 

B,  to  A,  G,  will   be  the  exact  jack  rafters 
and  the  bevel  at  K,  will  be  the  side  cut 
against  the  hip,  with  the  bevel  at  F,  as  the 
vertical  cut,  and  that  at  K,  the  bottom  or 
plate  cut 

The  development  of  the  covering  for  the 
remaining  three  planes  of  the  roof  is  found 
by  drawing  the  line  I,  J,  through  E,  paral- 
lel to  A,  B,  or  C,  D,  then  with  B,  as  centre 
and  B,  G,  as  radius  intersecting  E,  J,  at  J, 
and  joining  J,  B,  and  J,  D ;  a  similar  pro- 
cess can  be  gone  through  to  determine  the 
points  H  and  I,  thus  obtaining  the  four 
convexing  planes. 

To  prove  the  accuracy  of  this  and  the 
two  previous  roof  problems  before  dscribed, 
or  in  fact  any  roof  problem,  the  plan  should 
invariably  be  laid  out  to  a  scale,  say  i  y2 
inches  to  one  foot.  On  a  sheet  of  card- 
board y?  inch  scale  will  do  if  the  roof  be 
very  large,  then  to  make  a  cardboard 
model.  Here  this  can  be  done,  and  when 
the  lines  have  been  laid  down,  as  just  de- 
scribed, the  entire  model  may  be  made  as 
follows :  With  a  sharp  pocket-knife  cut 
clean  through  the  cardboard  from  A  to  G, 
from  G  to  B,  from  B  to  J,  from  J  to  D, 
from  D  to  H,  from  H  to  C,  from  C  to  I, 
and  from  I  to  A.  Next  make  a  slit  half- 


way through  the  cardboard  from  A  to  B, 
from  B  to  D,  from  D  to  C,  and  from  C  to 
A.  Proceed  to  fold  the  planes  over  the 
seats  till  they  all  join  at  the  edges,  thereby 
making  a  completed  cardboard  roof  re- 
sembling Fig.  6,  with  the  jacks  and  bevels 
in  position,  and  with  all  the  cuts  fitting  as 
they  ought  to. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HEXAGONAL  ROOFS. 

Carpenters  will  see  at  Fig.  8  the  top  an< 
side   vie.vs   of   a    hexagonal   or   six-sided 
tower  roof,  or  one  which  has  a  wall  plate 


I 

FIG.  8. 

running  round  on  six  walls  as  shown,  the 
dotted  lines  representing  the  angle  lines  of 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


the  hexagonal  figure.  The  completed  roof 
with  the  tin  or  shingle  on,  will  appear  as 
shown  on  the  lower  sketch. 

In  order  to  frame  this  roof  the  following 
system  should  be  used  : 


G,  as  G,  J.  Lay  off  also  to  the  same  scale' 
the  exact  height  in  feet  of  the  pitch  or  rise 
of  the  roof  from  G,  to  J,  and  join  J,  E, 
which  line  will  be  the  exact  length  of  the 
hip  rafter  as  seen  in  the  diagram  with  the 


At  Fig.  9  proceed  to  lay  out  on  a  board     top  and  bottom   bevels  necessary  for  the 


\ 


\ 


to  a  scale  of  I  ^  or  3  inches  to  the  foot, 
the  plan  of  the  wall  plates  (on  the  outside 
line)  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F ;  and  join  the  inter- 
sections of  the  sides,  as  A,  D,  B,  E,  and  C, 
F  ;  passing  through  the  centre  G.  This 
gives  the  seats  of  the  hip  rafters  A  G,  B  G, 
C  G,  D  G,  E  G,  and  F  G,  six  in  all  To 
find  their  exact  length,  square  up  from  E, 


cuts,  these  being  given  at  once  without  any 
uncertainty. 

To  find  the  length  of  the  common  rafter, 
to  stand  over,  H,  G,  set  off  the  pitch  G,  I, 
on  G,  C,  equal  to  G  J,  and  join  H,  I,  for 
the  length.  This  rafter  is  rarely  used  on 
roofs  of  this  class,  except  when  they  are  of 
large  area,  as  only  the  jacks  are  requisite, 


88 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


especially  on  modern  frame  houses  where 
they  seldom  exceed  eight  feet  in  width, 
thus  requiring  short  rafters. 

To  develop  this  roof  take  a  pair  of  com- 
passes, and  with  E,  as  centre,  and  radius 
E,  J,  describe  the  arc  J,  M,  L,  cutting  H, 
C,  produced  in  L.  Join  E,  L,  and  D,  L, 
which  will  give  the  triangle  E,  L,  D,  the 
covering  over  the  plan  E,  G,  D,  on  the 
pitch  or  rise  G,  J.  Bisect  or  rather  divide 

E,  F,  into    two    parts    at    Q.     Square  up 
from  Q,   cutting  the  arc  J,  M,  L,   at  M. 
Join  M,  E,  and  M,  F.     The  triangle  E,  M, 

F,  will  lie   over  E,  G,  F.     The  remaining 
four  triangular  developments  or  coverings 
can    be    laid    out  from    the  foregoing   by 
making  J,  O,  H,  K,  R,  N,  and  S,  P,  equal  in 
length  to  Q,  M,  or  a  simpler  method  would 
be   to   take   G,   as   centre  with   G,   M,   as 
radius  and  describe  short  arcs  cutting  O, 
K,  N,  and  P,  thus  giving  the  exact  lengths 
at    one    sweep,  and   insuring   their   being 
alike  so  as  to  meet  at  the  centre  G,  when 
folded. 

The  side  bevel  at  K,  will  make  the  top 
cuts  on  the  jack  rafters  fitting  against  the 
hips,  the  bottom  cuts  fitting  on  the  plates 
being  the  bevel  at  H. 

Almost  every  mechanic  knows  how  a 
hexagon  or  six-sided  figure  is  struck  out, 
still  in  case  there  should  be  even  one  stu- 
dent who  is  at  sea  in  regard  to  it,  I  re- 
peat the  method  of  doing  so  here.  The 
diameter  or  length  from  angle  to  angle  is 
usually  given,  or,  if  not,  is  easily  found  by 
joining  the  angles  aa  before  described. 
Now,  to  lay  out  any  hexagon,  draw  any 
line  as  F,  C,  and  divide  it  into  two  equal 
parts  at  G.  With  G,  centre  and  radius  G, 
F,  strike  the  circle  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F.  Now 
take  a  pair  of  dividers  (sharp  points  on 
both  legs)  and  from  C,  with  one  point  on 
C,  space  out  the  six  distances  C,  B,  B,  H, 
A,  F,  F,  E,  E,  D,  and  D,  C.  Draw  the  lines 
as  shown  for  the  outline  of  the  hexagon. 


In  regard  to  framing  an  octagonal  or 
eight-sided  roof,  the  same  methods  as  have 
been  described  above  can  be  safely  followed 
with  the  exception  of  laying  out  the  octa- 
gon itself,  which  can  be  done  in  any  of  the 
numerous  ways  now  in  use. 

When  the  plan  of  the  plate  has  been 
laid  down,  the  angles  are  joined  and  the 
pitches  raised  up  in  the  same  manner  as 
for  a  hexagonal  roof.  Likewise  with  the 
development  of  the  planes.  They  can  be 
similarly  found. 

When  cutting  out  the  model  of  these 
roofs  (after  laying  the  lines  out  on  a  sheet 
of  cardboard,  should  any  reader  care  to  do 
so)  the  model  can  be  made  in  this  way. 

With  a  sharp  penknife  or  chisel  cut  en- 
tirely through  the  sheet  from  A,  to  K,  K, 
to  B,  and  so  on  around  each  outside  line 
until  the  piece  drops  out  in  the  form  of  a 
six-pointed  star.  Next  make  a  slit  through 
the  plan  lines  as  A,  B,  B,  C,  etc.,  and  pro- 
ceed to  fold  the  sides  up  until  the  points 
O,  K,  N,  P,  L,  and  N,  all  meet  over  G, 
and  each  hip  as  E,  L,  etc.,  will  be  in  their 
exact  place,  exactly  over  its  seat,  and  the 
cuts  will  all  fit  as  contemplated,  thus  prov- 
ing the  accuracy  of  the  system. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CONICAL  OR  CIRCULAR  ROOFS. 

Having  treated  the  usual  forms  of  roofs 
embracing  the  hip  and  valley  principles,  I 
will  now  draw  the  attention  of  my  readers 
to  the  proper  laying  out  and  framing  of  a 
roof  on  a  circular  tower,  as  this  form  occurs 
very  often  in  modern  houses,  barns,  etc. 
The  methods  to  be  followed  are  very  sim- 
ple, so  that  an  ordinary  mechanic  can  easily 
understand  them  if  he  only  studies  the 
diagram  and  text  a  little. 

Supposing  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  H,  on 
Fig.  10,  to  be  the  plan  or  plate  line  of  the 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


89 


roof,  and  O,  L,  the  pitch  or  rise,  it  can  be 
laid  out  as  follows  :  To  be  more  explicit, 
I  will  take  it  for  granted  that  a  carpenter 
has  a  roof  to  frame  with  a  plan  A,  B,  etc., 
6  feet  diameter,  or  6  feet  from  C,  to  G,  and 
9  feet  rise,  or  from  O  to  L  is  nine  feet. 
Proceed  to  strike  the  plan  A,  B,  etc.,  either 
to  full  size  or  to  scale.  It  is  always  better 
to  lay  out  full  size  if  a  floor  or  drawing 
board  can  be  found  large  enough  to  do  it, 


The  ONE  AND  A  HALF  inch  scale  is 
similar,  but  the  divisions  are  not  so  handy. 
For  instance  : 


# 


inches=l  foot. 

=6  inches. 

=4 

— o 


The  above  two  scales  are  the  best  work- 


but  if  not,  half  size  or  a  scale  of  3  inches 
or  i  y2  inches  to  the  foot  may  be  used. 
The  reason  these  are  the  best  working 
scales  is  because  the  THREE  INCH  SCALE 
works  as  follows : 

3      inches=l  foot. 

=6  inches. 

=4 

=2 


ing  scales,  with  the  exception  of  the  half 
size  proportion,  which  is  very  simple  and 
easily  applied,  thus  : 


6      inches=  1  foot. 

5 

=  10  inches. 

4 

=  8 

3 

=  6 

2 

=  4 

1 

=  2 

X 

-   1 

JL 

=  A 

1 

FIG.    i  i 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


The  foregoing  scales  are  the  best  for 
carpenters,  either  foremen  or  at  the  bench, 
but,  as  I  said  above,  the  full  size  laying  out 
is  the  best.  Whether  the  work  is  laid  out 
to  scale  or  full  size,  the  exact  measurements 
should  always  be  marked  in  plain  figures 
on  every  piece. 

Having    struck    the  circle,  draw  centre 

O 

lines  for  the  rafters  A  E,  B  F,  C  G,  and 
D,  H,  and  set  off  the  thickness  of  the  rafters 
as  they  show  on  the  plan.  Next  draw  any 
straight  line  as  J  K,  the  same  length  as  C, 
G;  raise  up  the  centre  HneO,  L, the  height 
of  the  pitch,  and  join  L  K,  which  will  be 
the  length  of  the  rafters  to  stand  over  A  I, 
B  I,  C  I,  D  I,  E  I,  F  I  and  G  I,  and  the 
top  and  bottom  cuts  will  be  directly  given  ; 
as  at  L  and  J,  L  M,  and  L  N,  are  the  raft- 
ers I  D  and  I  E  placed  in  position  and  L 

0  is  the  rafter  E  I  in  position.      By  refer- 
ring to   Fig.  1 1,  the  rafters  B  I,  A  I,  and 
H  I  will  be  seen  at  the  rear  of  the  figure. 

If  the  roof  is  to  be  boarded  vertically, 
horizontal  strips  or  sweeps  will  require  to 
be  sawn  out  and  naikd  in  the  manner  rep- 
resented in  both  Figs.  10  and  n.  To  do 
this  properly,  divide  the  height  from  O  to 
L  in  Fig.  I,  and  draw  the  lines  representing 
the  sweeps  as  I  i,  2  2,  3  3,  44,  5  5.  Their 
neat  length,  and  the  cuts  to  fit  against  the 
sides  of  the  rafters,  may  be  determined  by 
striking  out  the  sweeps  shown  on  the  plan, 

1  i,  2  2,  3  3,  4  4,  5  5.     It  will  be  noticed 
that  this  roof  will  require  8  circular  pieces 
for  each   row,  or  40   sweeps   in  all.     One 
pattern  will  do  for  each  sweep  and  the  re- 
maining eight  needed  can  be   marked  from 
each  pattern. 

Fig.  1 1  will  convey  a  better  idea  of  the 
constructed  roof,  as  this  illustration  repre- 
sents each  stud  plate,  rafter  and  sweep  in 
its  fixed  position,  with  the  covering  boards 
nailed  on  half  way  round. 

In  order  to  find  the  exact  shape  and 
bevels  for  the  covering  boards,  a  very 


simple  method  is  used,  thus  :  Take  a  pair 
of  compasses,  or  a  trammel  rod,  and  with 
L  as  centre,  and  LP  as  radius,  describe  the 
arcs  JP  and  KQ.  Join  LP  and  LQ,  now 
divide  the  half  circle  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  into 
1 2  equal  spaces  on  JP  with  a  pair  of  com- 
passes, and  join  the  division  marks  on  JP 
with  L.  This  will  give  1 2  tapering  boards 
and  the  bevel  at  X  on  the  plan  will  be  the 
bevel  of  the  jointed  edges.  As  twelve 
boards  will  be  needed  for  half  the  plan, 
twenty-four  will  have  to  be  cut  out  for  the 
other  half,  so  it  will  be  seen  that  if  the 
sweep  or  arch  JP  goes  round  from  AB  to 
E,  the  sweep  KQ  will  go  round  HKG, 
etc.,  to  E.  The  diminishing  lines  from  the 
point  L  to  the  line  JP  are  the  inside  lines 
of  the  joints  of  the  boards  shown  also  in 
Fig.  n. 

In  order  to  prove  the  rectitude  of  the 
foregoing,  a  model  can  be  made  by  drawing 
the  roof  to  scale  on  cardboard,  and  then 
cutting  out  the  figures  from  L  to  J,  from  J 
to  K,  and  from  K  to  L.  Also  cut  out  the 
figures  LPS,  and  LQK.  Now  if  LSK  be 
stood  up  over  AEBF,  etc.,  it  will  be  seen 
to  fit  over  each  other. 

In  a  similar  way  the  figure  LJPwill  bend 
round  ABCDE  with  the  peak  L  over  the 
point  I  and  the  line  JP  around  ABCDE. 
In  a  like  manner  KQ  will  bend  round 
AHGFE,  and  L  will  lie  over  I,  thus  prov- 
ing the  correctness  of  the  methods  followed. 
Care  must  be  taken  to  allow  for  the  inter- 
vening rafters,  when  framing  the  peak  cuts 
of  the  rafters. 

All  my  roof  diagrams  are  laid  out  to  a 
scale  as  all  plans  are  and  usually  must  be 
so  that  if  any  carpenter  finds  for  example, 
that  any  rafter  or  number  of  rafters  rises, 
say  ten  feet  on  the  plan  and  has  a  run  of 
15,  1 8,  or  20  feet  as  the  case  may  be,  all  he 
has  to  do  is  to  assume  every  inch  on  the 
steel  square  to  be  equal  to  a  foot  or  I 
inch  scale,  and  take  ten  inches  on  the  tongue 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


and  20  inches  on  the  blade,  the  blade  angle 
will  give  the  bottom  cut,  and  the  tongue 
the  top  or  peak  cuts.  I  have  followed  this 
simple  method  in  working  from  plans  and 
it  has  never  failed  yet. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FRAMING,  SHEETING  AND  SLATING  AN  EVE- 
BROW  WINDOW. 

I  here  have  pleasure  in  publishing  the 
proper  method  to  be  followed  in  doing  this 
job,  and  many  may  appreciate  the  informa- 
tion as  this  form  of  attic  window  is  becom- 
ing more  popular  every  year ;  in  fact,  re- 
placing the  old  fashioned  dormer  in  low 
pitched  roofs  or  tho-e  on  cottages  in  the 
Queen  Anne  or  Colonial  styles. 

At  Fig.  1 2,  assume  A  B  to  be  the  length 
of  the  window,  in  this  case  6  feet  at  yz 
inch  scale,  and  the  height  3  feet.  Draw 
the  centre  line  D  C,  and  the  end  line  from 
A  and  B,  square  to  A  B,  the  sill  line. 
Now  draw  the  outline  of  the  window,  as  A 
E,  B,  and  the  sash  and  frame  to  the  eye- 
brow outline  seen  in  the  engraving ;  at  4 
foot  radius. 

Next  proceed  to  Fig.  13  the  section,  and 
draw  the  house  rafter  on  its  pitch,  and  at 
the  distance  up  from  the  cave  of  the  roof 
draw  the  sill  and  height  of  the  window,  3 
feet. 

Assuming  the  eyebrow  window  rafters 
to  be  concave,  or  hollow,  strike  them  out 
at  8  feet  radius  and  locate  the  point  c,  Fig. 
13,  where  the  covering  of  the  window  roof 
intersects  the  main  roof.  Now  divide  the 
curve  of  the  eyebrow  into  equal  parts  and 
transfer  these  over  to  Fig.  13,  as  seen,  and 
with  the  8 -feet  centre  and  patterns,  draw 
the  curves  of  the  rafters  according  to  the 
number  desired,  that  is,  if  the  roof  is 
boarded  across  or  horizontally — 3,  4,  ,5  6, 


7,  8,  etc..  will  be  the  curve  and  length  of 
each  rafter,  and  be  set  up  as  they  are  shown 
on  the  right  side  of  Fig.  12.  Now  draw 
from  Fig.  13.  back  again  to  elevation,  the 
points  where  the  curved  rafters  die  into 
main  roof  and  draw  up  square  to  sill  from 
division  points  on  curve.  The  intersecting 
of  these  lines  will  give  the  curve  C  B,  Fig. 
1 2,  which  will  be  the  shape  of  the  valley 
on  the  roof.  If  desired,  the  vertical  rafters 
can  be  sheeted  with  V2  inch  pine  strips, 
bent  round  in  two  thicknesses,  and  well 
nailed  to  each  rafter  and  breaking  joint  in 
each  thickness.  Another  way  to  frame 
this  roof  is  to  use  horizontal,  instead  of 
vertical,  curved  rafters,  in  the  way  shown 
to  the  left  of  Fig.  12,  each  rafter  following 
the  outline  of  the  front  elevation  of  the 
window  and  dying  into  the  roof  as  it  curves 
upward.  In  this  case  also  the  sheeting 
board  must  be  bent.  Three  thicknesses  of 
3-8  in.x2  in.  pine  strips,  laid  breaking 
joint,  make  a  reliable  sheeting,  and  one 
slating  nails  can  be  nailed  to. 

Regarding  slating  or  shingling  the  roofs 
of  these  windows,  I  would  state  that  the 
first  course  should  follow  the  curvature, 
and  project  over  the  front  of  the  window 
and  continue  horizontally  up.  The  slates 
should  be  very  narrow  and  may  radiate 
from  the  valleys. 

HOW    TO    STACK    LUMBER. 

All  timber,  especially  that  which  is  to 
be  used  in  the  construction  of  a  frame 
house,  should  be  properly  piled  or  stacked 
up  adjacent  to  the  building  until  the  build- 
ing is  ready  for  its  use.  When  the  stuff  is 
dumped  from  the  wagon  it  should  imme- 
diately be  put  into  piles  according  to  the 
different  sizes  of  the  timbers  ;  for  example, 
all  2"x4",  2"x6,"  2"x8,'J  2"xio,"  and  so 
on  should  be  kept  in  separate  piles  ac- 
cording to  their  lengths,  as  ordered  in  the 
lumber  bill,  in  a  manner  to  allow  the  air  to 


FRAMING  ROOFS. 


93 


circulate  around  each  stick  and  permitting 
water  to  fall  through,  without  remaining 
on  the  timbers.  Piles  should  in  every  case 
have  blocks  set  under  them  so  as  to  pre- 


;v   • 

•Lu. 
FIG.  12. 

vent  those  next  the  ground  absorbing  the 
dampness  therefrom.  If  the  pile  be  very 
large,  as  in  the  case  of  sheathing  boards,  it 
should  pitched  slightly  from  end  to  end 
to  permit  the  water  to  run  off.  Should 
flooring  be  brought  to  the  building  before 
the  roof  is  on,  it  should  be  very  carefully 
stacked  in  layers  with  strips  intervening 
between  each  layer,  and  the  top  of  the  pile 
should  be  carefully  covered  with  rough 
boards  and  over-lapping  and  breaking 
joints  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  any  rain 
from  wetting  the  stuff.  This  is  absolutely 
necessary  if  the  flooring  be  of  white  pine 
and  kiln  dried  ;  as,  on  account  of  the  ex- 
treme sensibility  of  the  wood  to  dampness, 
it  will  expand  if  wetted  and  contract  again 
when  laid  and  subject  to  the  heat  of  a 
room.  It  is  always  best  not  to  have  floor- 
ing, wainscoting  and  trim  come  to  the 


FIG.  13. 

building  until  after  the  roof  is  entirely  com- 
pleted. The  same  care  must  be  used  in 
stacking  corner  boards,  clap  boards  and 
other  outside  finish  as  applied  to  flooring. 
The  best  method,  however,  is  to  have  all 
the  outside  finish  primed  before  sending  to 
the  job. 

The  following  figures  on  the  steel  square 
give  common  rafter  cuts  on  steel  square 
for  different  pitches ;  also  hips  and  valleys. 

For 


pitch  take  3     in.  rise   12  in.  level  or  plate 

4  "  13  " 

4^     "  12  " 

6l  "  12  " 

8  "  12  " 

12  "  12  " 

16  "  12  " 

21  "  12  " 


73 

Goth. 


For  hips  and  valleys  substitute  1 7  inches 
on  level  or  plate  for  1 2  inches. 


Practical  Hints  for  Carpenters. 


THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  ACCURATE  MEASURE- 
MENTS. 

One  of  the  things  which  is  not  sufficiently 
considered  by  the  majority  of  mechanics  is 
the  value  of  measurements,  and  the  caie 
and  method  which  should  be  followed  in 
obtaining  them.  Let  us  consider  the  part 
they  play  in  mechanical  procedure,  espe- 
cially that  which  pertains  to  the  practice 
of  carpentry  and  note  the  result. 

What  are  measurements  ?  They  are  the 
distances  between  points  or  the  actual  sizes 
of  constructions  or  details  of  constructions, 
and  being  determined  either  through  the 
system  of  scale  drawings  or  by  other  con- 
structions already  completed,  must  of  nect  s- 
sity  be  absolutely  correct  to  ensure  success 
and  accuracy  in  all  mechanical  opeiations. 

Now  as  to  the  best  methods  of  obtaining 
accurate  measurements.  In  this  it  has 
been  found  that  the  methods  vary  with  the 
dis-ances  or  detail  to  be  measured,  and 
different  details  will  require  different  meth- 
ods. 

I  would  say,  that  every  distance  must  be 
found  exactly  and  by  systematic  means, 
and  for  long  distances,  the  metallic  or 
steel  tape-line,  as  used  by  engineers  and 
surveyors,  is  most  useful.  In  laying  out 
and  measuring  lots  and  sites  for  houses  it 
should  be  employed,  or  for  long  distances 
or  materials,  but  for  materials  such  as  tim- 
bers not  over  30  feet,  the  writer  has  found 
the  lo-foot  pole  the  best  measuring  instru- 
ment. This  valuable  tool  should  be  thor- 
oughly understood  by  every  mechanic.  It 
consists  of  a  simple  pole  or  rod  of  wood, 
exactly  10  lineal  feet  long  and  from  i  to 


i  *^  inches  square,  made  of  either  pine  or 
oak. 

It  should  be  well  seasoned  and  laid,  out 
absolutely  accurate  in  feet  on  all  four  sides, 
or  at  least  two  sides,  commencing  at  oppo- 
site ends.  The  lines  should  be  cut  in 
deeply  with  a  chisel  so  as  to  be  indelible, 
and  the  figures  (Roman)  thus:  I,  II,  III, 
IV,  V,  VI,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X,  cut  in  deeply 
with  a  y<i  inch  or  y%  inch  chisel.  By  doing 
this  they  will  be  permanent  and  not  liable 
to  be  rubbed  off  as  they  would  be  if  laid 
out  in  ordinary  pencil  marks.  If  made  in 
the  above  way  or  even  out  of  an  inch  by 
two  strip,  this  tool  will  be  found  of  great 
value  in  measuring  framing  timbers  for 
houses,  in  laying  off  windows  or  doors, 
setting  out  partitions,  or  in  fact  any  work 
outside  the  measuring  capacity  of  a  car- 
penter's two-foot  pocket  rule.  Especially 
will  it  be  found  necessary  in  measuring 
ronf  timbers  where  absolute  accuracy  is 
essential ;  great  care  should  be  taken  to  see 
that  it  is  not  broken  nor  less  than  the  full 
10  feet,  as  it  would  make  a  very  serious 
lessening  in  the  entire  length  supposing  the 
pole  were  laid  on  a  long  stick. 

To  measure  the  distance  between  two 
walls  or  in  openings  as  framing  for  doors, 
windows  and  in  recesses,  the  best  method 
is  to  use  two  rods  by  sliding  them  along 
until  the  ends  touch  the  opposite  side,  thus 
obtaining  the  exact  width.  If  in  door 
openings,  as  for  jambs  and  windows,  the 
width  should  be  taken  at  the  t  ^p,  bottom 
and  middle,  so  as  to  verify  and  approximate 
the  average  width  should  there  be  any 
variation.  Similarly  in  regard  to  heights, 


PRACTICAL  HINTS   FOR  CARPENTERS. 


95 


as  heights  of  doors,  windows,  ceilings,  floor 
beams,  etc.,  the  two  rods  are  safest,  as  they 
cannot  bend,  and  if  held  with  both  hands 
and  slid  apart  the  exact  distance  will  be 
ascertained,  as  it  is  a  very  simple  matter 
to  measure  the  length  of  the  rods.  Two 
two-foot  rules  are  also  of  great  utility  in 
inside  measuring. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  recommend  me- 
chanics to  be  more  particular  and  spend 
more  time  on  the  process  of  measuring, 
and  note  down  any  peculiarities  existant 
in  the  construction  and  make  line  sketches 
and  remarks  about  same,  especially  \\hen 
measuring  up  for  new  work. 


LAYING  OF  FLOORING. 
Concerning  the  laying  of  flooring.  I 
have  lately  noted  there  might  be  much 
said  on  this  important  detail  of  building 
construction.  First,  as  to  commencing  to 
lay.  I  would  suggest  that  the  first  course 
be  laid  perfectly  straight,  being  composed 
of  perfectly  straight,  picked  boards,  and  laid 
to  a  line  or  straightened  through  from  end 
to  end  with  the  eye,  and  it  should  be  firmly 
nailed  down  before  commencing  to  drive 
up  the  second  course.  Second,  flooring 
should  go  together  comparatively  ea^y; 
that  is  to  say,  the  tongues  and  grooves 
should  fit  snugly,  but  not  so  tight  as  to 
necessitate  bruising  up  all  the  tongues  of 
each  succeeding  board,  or  line  of  boards. 
by  banging  it  to  splinters  with  a  hammer 
or  axe.  Third,  the  running  joints  should 
be  driven  together  tight  by  using  a  block 
of  hard  wood  and  a  heavy  mall,  so  that 
the  flooring  board  will  not  recoil  or  spring 
out.  If  it  be  rounding  or  hollow  one  man 
should  drive  it  to  a  tight  joint  and  hold  it 
there  while  the  oth^r  nails  it  solidly  to  the 
beam  below.  Fourthly,  heading  joints 
should  be  absolutely  tight  and  might  be 
bevelled  a  little  under  in  the  sawing,  in 
order  that  the  lace  of  the  board  may  be 


tight,  and  no  two  joints  should  be  on  the 
same  floor  beam  not  closer  together  than 
the  spacing  of  two  beams  apart,  nor  should 
two  joints  be  on  any  one  beam  with 
only  one  through  course  between.  There 
should  be  always  two  or  more  between. 
The  heading  joints  should  likewise  be  well 
scattered  to  avoid  their  being  conspicuous, 
and  not,  a*  is  often  done,  all  grouped  in 
one,  two  or  more  places.  All  the  above 
suggestions  are,  however,  subject  to  modi- 
fication, in  order  to  suit  the  stuff,  so  as  to 
use  it  without  waste  or  loss  of  time.  All 
head  joints  rising  too  high  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  floor  must  be  planed  off.  Nail- 
ing should  be  done  carefully  and  without 
splitting  the  tongues  off. 

A  word  as  to  the  ordinary  mortise  and 
tenon  joints  on  framing.  From  close  ob- 
servation the  writer  has  found  that  it  is 
necessary  for  a  carpenter  to  study  the 
nature  of  his  stuff  closely,  in  order  to  con- 
struct work  of  this  class  so  that  it  will  re- 
main a  level  surface  without  warping,  espe- 
cially when  the  fiaming  (as  in  the  case  of  a 
framed  or  panelled  door)  is  suspended  or 
so  placed  as  to  be  subject  to  change  from 
not  being  fixed  or  nailed  in  position,  as  is 
wainscoting,  jambs,  soffits,  back-linings, 
etc.  If,  in  laying  out,  the  stuff  be  not  con- 
sidered and  matched  so  as  to  warp  in  the 
proper  direction,  the  result  will  be  a  useless 
job.  To  exemplify  this,  I  would  say  that 
very  often  the  stiles  of  a  door  will  warp 
one  to  the  inside  and  the  other  to  the  out- 
side of  the  door,  leaving  it  hopelessly  in 
wind,  and  this  could  be  avoided  in  the  laying 
out,  reversing  the  stiles  so  as  they  would 
both  work  in  the  same  direction,  and  thus 
keep  the  door  comparatively  level.  This 
is,  of  course,  entirely  unnecessary  in  the 
case  of  veneered  doors,  as  I  now  refer  to 
pine  and  whitewood  or  poplar  doors  where 
the  varying  grains  occasion  so  much  trouble 
as  to  render  some  of  the  timber  unfit  for 


96 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  CARPENTERS. 


use.  In  fact,  so  much  is  this  evident,  that 
the  writer  has  often  had  occasion  to  find 
that  it  is  often  more  profitable  and  satis- 
factory to  make  pine  doors  with  cores  and 
veneer  than  out  of  the  solid  stuff. 


How  TO  PUT  ON  HARDWARE. 

Ordinary  brass  faced  mortise  locks  need 
nice  fitting  and  require  to  be  set  in  flush 
with  the  door's  edge  and  not  to  project  if 
the  edge  be  beveled.  Brass  door-knobs 
and  escutcheons  ought,  in  all  cases,  to  be 
covered  with  linen  to  prevent  rough,  sandy 
hands  from  scoring  the  polished  surface. 
Tie  the  keys  to  the  knob,  or,  if  this  be  risky, 
put  a  marked  and  numbered  tag  on  each, 
in  order  that  its  lock  maybe  readily  found. 

Door  springs  have  also  printed  directions 
which  must  be  adhered  to  to  insure  satis- 
factory working.  Yale  and  other  special 
locks  need  special  cutting,  and  therefore  a 
good  mechanic  to  put  them  on  right,  but 
the  directions  and  sketch  in  the  box  are  a 
wonderful  aid  to  novices.  These  locks 
ought  never,  under  any  circumstances,  to 
be  taken  apart,  on  account  of  their  intri- 
cacy. An  error  of  this  kind  once  cost  the 
writer  much  expense  and  delay  and  a  good 
drenching  bringing  it  to  the  manufacturer's 
depot  for  readjustment. 

In  regard  to  sash  locks  there  is  little  to 
be  said,  except  that  they  require  to  be  on 
so  as  to  really  lock  the  window,  namely, 
bind  it  close  together  at  the  meeting  or 
check-rails,  besides  preventing  the  sash 
from  being  moved.  Fasten  on  escutcheons 
perfectly  plumb  and  drawer-pulls  level,  and 
try  and  keep  the  slots  of  the  screws  in  a 
line  with  the  work.  For  instance,  in  escut- 
cheons, finger  plates,  hinges  and  lock  faces, 
keep  all  the  slots  plumb,  and  on  drawer 
pulls,  door  pulls,  or  any  brass  or  iron  or 
silver  work,  keep  them  level  or  horizontal. 
English  ship-joiners  never  put  their  screws 
in  any  way  but  this,  and  it  really  makes 
the  hardware  much  neater,  and  is  worth 
following  even  at  the  expense  of  an  extra 
turn  of  the  screw-driver. 

The  hardware  of  sliding  doors  consists 
of  the  sheaves  or  rollers,  the  track  on  which 


they  run,  the   lock   and  fittings,  and   the 
iron  door-stop  above. 

For  fitting  in  the  sheaves,  the  main  thing 
is  to  get  them  in  the  centre  of  the  edge,  to 
bring  the  two  doors  fair  and  to  have  them 
project  equally.  The  doors  ought,  of 
course,  to  be  fitted  till  the  joint  comes 
close,  and  when  the  inside  wood  stop  is 
mortised  in  and  cut,  the  two  can  set  on  the 
track,  which,  by  the  way,  comes  in  two 
lengths,  and  the  sheaves  regulated  till  the 
doors  close  tightly.  Allow  enough  from 
floor  for  carpet-saddle.  The  stop  is  let 
flush  into  the  door-head,  and  the  lock  put 
on  the  usual  way.  Hardwood  sliding  doors 
should  never  be  made  without  friction 
strips,  to  save  the  arises  and  faces  of  the 
door  surfaces. 

Fanlight  levers,  bolts,  etc.,  are  compara- 
tively simple  in  their  application,  and  de- 
mand little  or  no  direction,  but  the  great 
thing  to  watch  in  putting  on  all  hardware 
is  to  make  it  fit  neatly,  so  that  it  may  look 
well.  All  marking  should  therefore  be 
exact  and  done  with  a  knife  to  insure  the 
piece  to  fit  in  its  place  and  work  freely 
without  sticking.. 


NAILING  OF   FRAMING,  ETC. 

Let  me  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that 
much  more  care  than  is  usually  evinced 
might  be  taken  by  carpenters  when  nailing 
parts  of  framing  together,  especially  at  the 
abutting  ends  of  studding,  on  the  top  and 
bottom  cuts  of  rafters  and  such  like.  As 
a  rule  I  find  that  many  of  the  pieces  are 
split  out  by  careless  or  insufficient  nailing, 
which  is  done  so  as  to  split  or  splinter  off 
the  stuff  and  lessen  its  holding  capacity. 
This  could  easily  be  avoided  by  entering 
each  nail  more  carefully.  Another  thing 
is  to  be  sure  and  straighten  all  studding, 
flooring,  beams  and  roofing  timbers  through 
from  end  to  end,  so  they  will  be  set  rigid 
and  upright,  in  order  to  gain  their  utmost 
strength.  If  any  timbers  be  warped  they 
should  be  straightened  up  or  bridged  in 
some  way  so  they  will  not  twist  more. 
The  foregoing  I  would  especially  apply  to 
hemlock  and  spruce,  as  many  pieces  are 
warped  and  need  a  little  care. 


, 


.--ft  I 


